SC refuses to interfere with selection, appointment of new AMU VC

The Supreme Court today refused to interfere with the process of selection and appointment of Vice Chancellor (VC) for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and dismissed a plea in this regard.

The apex court also declined to de-tag another plea in which the appointment of the current VC has been challenged from the petition in which  AMU's status as a minority institution was held as unconstitutional by the Allahabad High Court.

Before dismissing the plea challenging the ongoing process on appointment of the VC after the retirement of the incumbent, a bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice N V Ramana took on record that the three shortlisted candidates fulfil the academic guidelines laid by UGC for the post.

AMU submitted that since it was a minority institution, it was not mandatory for it to adhere to the UGC guidelines but in the current process, all the three candidates out of the five, who were in the fray, fulfil the UGC guidelines.

A petition was filed earlier in the apex court challenging AMU's selection process in appointing Lt Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah as the Vice Chancellor of the university.