Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court on Friday modified its previous directions regarding the appointment of Vice Chancellors in West Bengal and entrusted former Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and the Selection committee headed by him with the responsibility of independently determining the most suitable candidates for appointment to 15 universities.

“Justice Lalit and members of his selection committee are the best persons to resolve this issue as they have not only interacted with the candidates but examined their academic achievements, experience, ability, and other relevant factors while considering their candidature”, the Court observed.

The Court said that the committee would no longer be bound by the order of preference given by the Chief Minister while recommending names for appointment, but requested the committee to consider the opinions that have already been given by the Governor and the CM.

“Consequently we modify Para 18 and 21 of our order to the effect that Justice Lalit and his companion members of the committee need not adhere to the order of preference given by the CM of the state. In other words Justice Lalit will independently examine that who is the best suitable candidate for the purpose of appointment. We request Justice Lalit and his committee member to consider the opinions/remarks of the Chancellor. Due weightage to also be assigned to the reasons, if any, given by the CM while recommending the order of preference.”

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the dispute between the West Bengal government and Governor CV Anand Bose, who is also the Chancellor of state universities. The Court had constituted the committee led by Justice Lalit in July 2024 to resolve the deadlock between the two constitutional authorities.

Vice Chancellors to 17 out of 35 state universities have already been appointed pursuant to recommendations made by the committee and following the procedure laid down in the judgment. These selections have been duly approved by the Chancellor.

During the hearing on Friday, the Court took note of the latest report submitted by Justice Lalit on July 11, 2025. This report was prepared after the Court had directed him to examine the views of the Chief Minister and the Chancellor on the remaining candidates for appointment.

However, for the remaining appointments, Justice Lalit's report showed divergence between the preferences of the Chief Minister and the Chancellor. In the case of seven universities, the Chancellor found the candidates placed second in the Chief Minister's list to be suitable. In eight universities, he preferred candidates placed third in the Chief Minister's order of preference. Justice Lalit did not provide an independent opinion on these deviations.

The judgment dated July 8, 2024 required the Chancellor and the Chief Minister to record their objections on the recommended names, with the final decision resting with the Court. However, on Friday, the bench said that this procedure needed to be changed to empower the committee.

The Court authorised the committee to form its own order of preference for appointments in the 15 universities 7 where the Chancellor chose the second preferred candidate of the CM and 8 where the third was preferred. The Court requested Justice Lalit and the other members of the committee to complete the process “as early as possible,” and posted the matter after four weeks.

As regards with Rabindra Bharati University, the Court directed the Chancellor to approve the appointment of Professor Dr. Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee, who had been recommended by the Chief Minister. The Chancellor had earlier refused to approve her name on the ground that she had been appointed as Vice Chancellor of West Bengal State University.

However, it was submitted that she had not taken charge there. The Court said the reason for withholding her appointment “no longer survives.” If she has already joined West Bengal State University, she would be at liberty to resign and take charge at Rabindra Bharati University, the Court held.

For Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, the Court said that if the Chancellor has no issue of unsuitability of the person placed first in the Chief Minister's order of preference, then he should approve the name and make the appointment “in the best interests of the students.”

Background

The dispute stems from a Special Leave Petition filed by the State of West Bengal challenging the June 2023 judgment of the Calcutta High Court, which had upheld the interim Vice Chancellor appointments made by Governor CV Anand Bose in universities.

In July 2024, the Supreme Court had intervened to resolve the ongoing standoff between the State and the Governor by forming a Search-cum-Selection Committee chaired by Justice Lalit.

The Court had retained the power to take the final call if there were unresolved objections between the Chief Minister and the Chancellor. However, the Court has now given full authority to the committee to independently finalise appointments.

Case no. – Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 17403 of 2023

Case Title – State of West Bengal v. Dr. Sanat Kumar Ghosh & Ors.