-Reshma Ravishanker
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday upheld an earlier order of a single bench of the court quashing the appointment of Prof. K.R. Venugopal as the vice chancellor of Bangalore University.
In 2018 Dr. Sangamesh Patil, professor, Gulbarga University, filed a petition in the Karnataka HC alleging irregularities in the appointment of Prof. Venugopal. Subsequently on September 25, 2019 a single judge bench of the HC quashed his appointment.
Responding, Prof. Venugopal and state government filed separate writ appeals. The state government claimed that the appointment of Venugopal, made official through an order on June 12, 2018 was later validated on June 28, 2018.
Delivering its verdict on March 16, 2022, Justice D Sujatha held that issuing a ratification would not “validate an invalid action”. Dismissing the writ appeals, Justice S. Sujata ruled, “We find no reasons to interfere with the well considered order of the learned single judge.”
The single bench had earlier ruled that there was no concurrence from the state government because both the chief minister and the minister for higher education had recommended the name of Dr Sangamesh Patil for the post of Bangalore VC.
The Search Committee had, in 2017 recommended a panel of three names including that of the petitioner for selection to the post of Vice Chancellor, Bangalore University. However, it was challenged in the court which termed it a blatant violation of the provisions of
Section 14(4) of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000 (‘Act’ for short) for want of concurrence of the state government.
The appointment row is not the only controversy plaguing Prof. Venugopal, who is three months away from retirement. Earlier allegations have made been against him for possession of fake caste and income certificates.
