Delhi High Court dismisses appeal against appointment of Dr Najma Akhtar as Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor

The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed an appeal challenging appointment of Dr Najma Akhtar as the Vice-Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia university..A Division Bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh pronounced the order today rejecting the appeal. .The Court said that the appellant had brought nothing on record to show that the Summary Note prepared by the Joint Secretary to the Government of India and the recommendation made therein were out of the ordinary. Interestingly, the Summary Note had alluded to the recommendation of the Minister of Human Resource Development which was to consider Professor Akhtar for the appointment. On this aspect, the Division Bench said while the recommendation may not be a wholesome practise, the material placed does not indicate that it was done to bear influence on the Visitor (President of India).However, the added that in the future, it may be advisable for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to eschew the practice of indicating, as to which candidate, according to it, fits the bill."Thus, for the foregoing reasons, we are disinclined to interfere with the conclusion arrived at by the learned single judge. The appeal is, accordingly, dismissed," the Court finally concluded. .The Division Bench was dealing with an appeal filed by the University's alumnus M Ehtesham-ul-Haq challenging the single-judge's order rejecting his plea against appointment of Akhtar. Haq argued that the appointment of Akhtar was completely illegal as the search committee constituted for appointing the Vice-Chancellor was marred by illegalities. The appellant contended that the entire process which culminated in the appointment of Dr Akhtar as the Vice-Chancellor was a colourable exercise of power.The process was also alleged to have been in flagrant violation of the Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988 read with Clause 7.3.0 of the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the maintenance of standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2010, it was argued. .However, in an order pronounced on March 5, 2021, the single-judge held that the petitioner had not been able to show that any express provision of either the UGC Regulations or the JMI Act had been flouted while making the appointment.The Court, therefore, concluded that the appointment of Akhtar was justified."I must highlight the position of law that Court cannot sit in appeal over the decision taken by the Search Committee. Rather the scope is limited to judicial review of the decision whereby the Court is only concerned with whether the incumbent possessed qualifications for the appointment and the manner in which the appointment came to be made or whether the procedure adopted was fair, just and reasonable," the order said..Advocate Mobashshir Sarwar appeared for the petitioner. Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Kirtiman Singh with advocates Waize Ali Noor and Durgesh Nandini appered for Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources. Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee with advocates Pritish Sabharwal, Shruti Agarwal, Janhavi Prakash, Kartik Dey, Shashank, Sanjeet and Sharad Shukla appeared for Jamia Millia Islamia. Advocates Ravinder Agarwal, Girish Pandey and Lekh Raj Singh appeared for the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Advocates Apoorv Kurup and Keerti Dadheech appeared for Universities Grant Commission. .[Read Judgement].Delhi High Court dismisses appeal against appointment of Dr Najma Akhtar as Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor