Wed Mar 12 14:41:47 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker Challenges Governor’s Rejection of VC Search Panel
**TIRUNELVELI, March 12, 2025** – Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu has challenged Governor R.N. Ravi’s rejection of the state government’s search committee for appointing the Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University. The Governor rejected the panel, citing the absence of a nominee from the University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman and referencing a Supreme Court ruling.
However, Mr. Appavu countered that the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling, which dealt with a Kerala university, only mandated a minimum of three members on the search committee, not the inclusion of a UGC nominee. He emphasized that the state’s submitted three-member panel fulfilled this requirement.
Mr. Appavu further cited Section 26 of the UGC Act of 1956, asserting the state government’s right to accept or reject the Governor’s suggestions regarding state university administration, given that the state funds and establishes these institutions. He criticized the Governor’s action as an overreach of authority, drawing a parallel to the Governor’s earlier reversal of a cabinet minister’s removal. The Speaker concluded that the Governor lacks the legal right to reject the state’s proposed search committee.
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