VC appointments: SC to wait for expert report before hearing Kerala Guv plea to drop CM from panel
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked to wait for the report of former apex court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia before hearing the plea of Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar seeking the removal of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from a panel tasked to recommend vice chancellors (VCs) for two state universities.
The plea was mentioned by Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for Governor, before a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan.
The top law officer indicated urgency and asked the bench to take up the Governor’s plea for hearing. Venkataramani said the question of who was the authority to appoint vice chancellors could create complications once the committee’s recommendations were submitted.
“I have a very small request. These applications should not be seen as obstructing any process of Justice Dhulia in this matter. But a subsequent order passed by another bench has restored the Chancellor as the appointing authority,” he said.
The attorney general was referring to an order of Justice Surya Kant-led bench in the West Bengal Governor–VCs dispute, where the court appointed former CJI U U Lalit to mediate.
The bench, however, recently modified a section of its order, clarifying that the Justice Lalit-led committee need not adhere to the order of preference provided by the West Bengal chief minister.
According to the attorney general, this modification effectively restores the role of Governor as Chancellor in the appointment process, raising questions about the Kerala panel’s functioning.
“Should we not wait for the report of Justice Dhulia?” Justice Pardiwala asked, indicating that the court would take a holistic view only after receiving the committee’s findings.
The bench continued, “Let the report come. We will work out the modalities. We will balance… the day it comes, we will look into the report and the modified order.”
The bench then deferred the matter.
Kerala Governor moved the top court seeking the exclusion of the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan from the selection process of Vice Chancellors for the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Kerala Digital University.
Governor, who is also the Chancellor of both the state-run universities, said neither of the universities envisioned any role for the chief minister in the selection process.
The plea highlighted the role of the chief minister in the entire selection process for appointment of VCs for the two universities and referred to "State of West Bengal v. Dr Sanat Kumar Ghosh and Others" the directions of which had been applied in the present case.
Section 8 (1) of the Calcutta University Act, 1979 provides for the role of the minister of the state in the selection process there, the plea added.
“Since the minister is a part of the selection process in the appointment of Vice Chancellors in the State of West Bengal, this court made the Chief Minister a part of the said process," Governor said.
However, it pointed out the university enactments -- the A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University Act and the Kerala Digital University Act -- had no provision for having the minister for higher education or the state government as a part of the selection process for recommendation for appointment of VCs.
"Therefore, in the humble submission of the application the role of CM for selection of VCs as mentioned in the order dated August 18, may be modified by this court,” the plea sought.
On August 18, the top court appointed former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia as the Chairperson of the committee for selecting vice chancellors in the two universities and said the CM had a role in their selection.
The plea, however, contended the chief minister’s involvement would violate the principle against “a person judging his own cause,” a norm embedded in the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations.
“The Chief Minister being the Executive Head of the State is connected with the number of government colleges, managed by the government and affiliated to the university. Therefore, as per UGC Regulations he cannot have any role whatsoever in the appointment of vice chancellors,” the application said.
Governor said he was not seeking the modifications of the August 18 order with regard to appointment of former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia as chairperson of the search-cum-selection committee tasked with finalising the VC appointments and “no objection” to the judge heading the committee.
The plea, however, said the Governor was opposed to the participation of nominees suggested by the state government.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
