Shimla
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has dismissed the petition filed against the extension of service given to Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Vice Chancellor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel. High Court Judge Justice Sandeep Sharma held the petition filed by the applicant Dharam Pal Sharma against the extension of service to the VC as meritless. Also, the order of the governor in this matter was termed as correct according to the law.
According to the case before the High Court, the Chancellor of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, i.e. the Governor had constituted a selection committee through a notification dated 14 February 2022. The Secretary to the Governor, who was the Chancellor’s nominated member in the selection committee, had invited applications for the post of Vice Chancellor of the University. A total of 14 candidates, including the incumbent Vice Chancellor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, had applied for the concerned post.
After interviewing all the candidates, the selection committee recommended the name of Rajeshwar Singh Chandel for appointment to the post. Rajeshwar Singh Chandel was appointed as VC on 6 May 2022. Chandel took charge on 9 May. On the expiry of the term, the Governor, in his capacity as Chancellor of Nauni University, granted an extension to Rajeshwar Singh Chandel on the post of VC through an order dated 6 May 2025. At the same time, the complaint of the petitioner in this case was that since the initial appointment of the petitioner to the post of Vice Chancellor in the year 2022 was made by a committee. This committee was not constituted in accordance with Section 24 (1) of the Act, hence that committee cannot be said to be valid.
On this, the High Court, after carefully studying the order of 6 May 2025, said that the Vice Chancellor has not been reappointed as per Section 24 (3), but he has been allowed to continue in office till the appointment of his successor. According to Section 24 (3), the Chancellor i.e. the Governor has the power to give extension to an incumbent or appoint one of the senior most faculty. With this, the High Court dismissed the petition.
