Pachaiyappa principal’s appointment upheld but limited to promoting education

A division bench of the Madras High Court, which upheld an order of the interim administrator of the Pachaiyappa Trust Board appointing Dr P Arulmozhichelvan, Associate Professor and Head of Department of Physics as the principal-in-charge of the Pachaiyappa College in Kilpauk, has also allowed him to act so for the limited purpose of promoting education and he should be considered as the principal by the University and the government for the time being.

The bench of Justices K K Sasidharan and RMT Teekaa Raman, which upheld the appointment while passing interim orders on the appeals from the affected persons, however, clarified that no equity or right would accrue to any of the parties on account of the order passed by the interim administrator and the same would be subject to the result of the intra court appeals.

Originally, while passing orders on a batch of writ petitions from the aspirants to the post of principal, Justice S M Subramaniam had set aside the appointment of Dr N Shettu as the principal of the Pachaiyappa’s college on April 24 last. And Justice P Shanmugam, the interim administrator of the Trust, on April 26, appointed Dr Arulmozhichelvan as the principal-in-charge of the college.

Aggrieved, the affected persons and others preferred the present appeals. When the matter came up  the bench was told that unless there is a regular principal, the University would not approve the admission of the students in the college. And the bench made it clear that the appointment of Arulmozhichelvan by the interim administrator as principal-in-charge would be deemed to be the principal for all purposes relating to education and he should be considered as the principal by the University and the government for the time being.

The bench, however, stayed a portion of the orders of the single judge in so far as it declared null and void, the process of selection conducted by the Board through its selection and college committees and holding the same as violation of the provisions of the TN Private Colleges (Regulations) Rules and the University Grants Commission Regulations.

The bench also stayed the direction of the single judge to the interim administrator to conduct at the earliest, a fresh selection for appointments/promotions to the post of principals for all the colleges by strictly following the statutes/rules and UGC Regulations.

His last direction to look into the complaints made by the writ petitioners and other members in respect of corrupt activities in the process of selection and file an appropriate complaint before the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption is also stayed by the bench. The matter stands adjourned till June 17.