CHENNAI: President Droupadi Murmu has returned the University of Madras (Amendment) Bill to the Tamil Nadu government, dealing a fresh blow to the DMK government’s efforts to assert greater control over the administration of state-run universities.

The decision brings back into focus the long-running tussle between the state government and Governor RN Ravi over the appointment of vice-chancellors in TN universities.

The Bill, passed by the state Assembly in April 2022, sought to amend the University of Madras Act by transferring the power to appoint and remove the vice-chancellor, from the governor — who serves as the ex-officio chancellor of the university — to the state government. By replacing the term “chancellor” with “government” in the Act, the state aimed to make the elected government the final authority in matters of academic leadership.

With President returning Bill, TN has to reconsider legislation, says official

However, Governor Ravi reserved the Bill for the President’s consideration, citing concerns that the proposed changes could be at odds with University Grants Commission regulations and established norms governing V-C appointments.

“With the President returning the Bill without granting assent, as per rules, the state will again have to reconsider the legislation,” said an official from the higher education department.

Higher education department officials were tight-lipped over the explanation given by the President’s office for returning the Bill. This comes amid a leadership vacuum in 14 out of the 22 state universities. Several institutions, including the University of Madras, one of India’s oldest universities, are functioning without regular V-Cs and are being run by convenor committees.

“University of Madras has been functioning without a V-C since August 2023. Absence of permanent leadership has affected academic planning, research approvals and administrative functioning,” said a professor in the varsity.

The New Indian Express reports that the DMK government has repeatedly blamed the governor for this situation, accusing him of delaying assent to legislation and V-C appointments. This dispute earlier reached the Supreme Court which, in April this year, delivered a landmark verdict on the governor’s role in dealing with state legislation. Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court granted “deemed assent” to 10 amendment bills passed by the TN Assembly in 2022, including those related to V-C appointments in 18 state universities.

Following the ruling, the state government proceeded to appoint V-Cs to these universities. However, petitions were filed challenging the verdict and the matter got entangled in the Madras High Court and SC. The University of Madras Bill, which remained outside the scope of court intervention, continued to await the President’s decision. While the TN government did not issue an official response to this matter on Monday, a higher education department official said, “We will examine all legal and legislative options.”

This story is reported by Binita Jaiswal of The New Indian Express.