The Patna High Court today quashed the appointment of 12 college principals under Magadh University and directed its vice-principal to ensure they stop working as principals with immediate effect.
Justice Arun Kumar Tripathi passed the judgement on a writ petition filed by Prof Bimal Prasad Singh, Head of the Department of Political Science, of A N College, Patna, and others challenging the appointment of those 12 principals by the Magadh University Registrar, vide a notification, dated January 16, 2013.
The judge also directed the university vice-chancellor to ensure that these 12 principals do not continue to perform duty from today.
Justice Tripathi also ordered that a copy of the judgement be forwarded to the Chancellor of Universities of Bihar for his information and for remedial measures to improve the working of the universities and to identify the persons responsible for appointment of these principals.
The petitioners, teachers working under the university in various capacities, had alleged that the entire selection process of the 12 was vitiated from the advertisement level and accused the authorities of nepotism, favouritism and arbitrariness.
“The exercise has been done by hoodwinking the law, if not dragging even the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the controversy. Name of apex court was used in the advertisement with the object of warding off any scrutiny of the action under challenge including judicial kind,” the judge said in his order.
In an indictment of the selection process, the order said “…This Court is constrained to observe from an old saying that a leopard never changes its spot nor do white-collared criminals who are masquerading as ‘educationists’ in the Magadh University.