Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by incumbent Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University Prof Khurshid Andrabi, challenging the process for appointment of his successor.
“The argument that the amendment Act of 2015 be given retroactive effect in the present case is without any legal basis and is accordingly rejected,” said a bench of Justice D S Thakur while dismissing KU vice-chancellor Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi plea that his term as vice-chancellor was for five years instead of erstwhile three years.
While Prof Andrabi was appointed as the KU VC on 17th October 2014 for a period of three years, the government amended the Kashmir and Jammu Universities Act 1969, in 2015, substituting the words “three” by the words “five” for tenure of the vice-chancellor and clearly indicating that the amendments shall be applicable from the date they are published in the gazette notification. The gazette notification, after concurrence from the Governor NN Vohra, has been issued in 2015 itself.
The petition by professor Andrabi was based on the grounds that the state legislature on 20th April 2015 carried out amendment in Kashmir and Jammu Universities Act 1969 substituting tenure of Vice-Chancellor to be for five years. The chancellor had issued notification in September last year for appointment of the new Vice chancellor.
