The Centre is yet to act on Uttarakhand High Court’s six-month-old directive to appoint a regular chairperson for IIM Kashipur.

Dealing with a petition filed by a social worker, a division bench of the high court had in April directed the education ministry to appoint the chairperson within four months. However, the education ministry is yet to comply with the order.

Around a dozen B-schools, including IIM Calcutta, are yet to make new appointments to key positions.

IIM directors are executive officers and manage the day-to-day functions of the institutes. The chairpersons head the board of governors (BoG), which is supposed to take broad policy decisions.

The division bench of Chief Justice G. Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra had on April 17 passed the appointment order on a petition filed by social worker Sukhvinder Singh against the education ministry. Singh had contended that an IIM chairperson could not have a tenure of more than four years and Sandeep Singh’s continuation as IIM Kashipur chairperson for over five years was in violation of rules.

“The first respondent is hereby directed to treat the writ petition as a representation, and consider and dispose of the same in accordance with law. The consideration and disposal shall be within an outer limit of four months from today,” the high court had said in its order.

Two IIM officials said the education ministry claims that the appointment of the chairperson is underway.

“When the education ministry is asked about the appointment of chairpersons, it says the process is on. It seems the ministry is comfortable with the current ad hoc system as the majority of the IIMs continue with acting chairpersons,” said an official.

In August, the ministry had formally granted extension of tenure to IIM Rohtak chairperson J.D. Shroff with the approval of the Visitor, the President of India.

An IIM official said the government granted a formal extension to Shroff to avoid a legal challenge while taking action against IIM Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma in a case of alleged misconduct.

Chairpersons of a dozen IIMs, including the one in Calcutta, continue to hold the posts based on a July 2023 executive order of the higher education department under the education ministry, despite having completed their regular term in 2022.

“In the case of IIM Rohtak, the incumbent director will challenge the continuation of the chairperson when the BoG, headed by the chairman, takes any action against him. To avoid a legal challenge, the government issued a formal extension to the Rohtak chairman,” the IIM official said.

The delay in the appointment of IIM chairpersons has created adhocism and encouraged unnecessary interference by some incumbent chairpersons in daily affairs such as the grant of leave, a section of IIM faculty members and officials have said.