The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of the Centre and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) on a petition challenging appointment of the current Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the university.
Justice A.K. Chawla also issued notices to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), University Grants Commission and its V-C Najma Akhtar, on the plea.
The petition by M. Ehtesham-ul-Haque, a JMI alumnus, has alleged that Ms. Akhtar’s appointment was invalid for the reasons that the search committee, which selected prospective candidates for the post, was constituted illegally and that she had been denied CVC clearance initially.
The petition, filed through advocate Mobashshir Sarwar, claimed that the denial of clearance was revoked after intervention of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
“It is submitted that the entire process culminating into the impugned appointment of Najma Akhtar is a colourable exercise of power and in flagrant violation and total non-compliance of the statutory provisions of the Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988,” it claimed.
The petition has sought that her appointment as V-C be declared as “illegal, arbitrary, void ab initio and non est in law”.
