In the light of a Bombay High Court order on petitions challenging his qualifications, Rajan Welukar, Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University, was asked to abstain from his duties by Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao on Thursday.
Mr. Rao, Chancellor of all universities in the State, directed Pro Vice-Chancellor Naresh Chandra to officiate as Vice-Chancellor.
On February 12, the court, acting on a bunch of petitions, directed the Chancellor to set up a search committee within two weeks to reconsider the question of Dr. Welukar’s eligibility. The committee should re-examine his eligibility within four weeks thereafter.
The court directive came on petitions by Niteen Deshpande and Vasant Genu Patil, social activists, and A.D. Sawant, former Vice-Chancellor of Rajasthan University, saying Dr. Welukar did not have the eligibility to be appointed Vice-Chancellor. He became Vice-Chancellor in July 2010.
The petitioners contended that the information obtained through the Right to Information applications showed that Dr. Welukar did not have 15 years of teaching experience. Even the 13 years of experience he had could not be counted, as his appointment was on an ad-hoc basis, the petitioners’ counsel told the court.
The court allowed the petitioners to produce additional material before the search committee.