HC Disposes of PIL After Govt Cancels Appointment of Utkal's In-Charge V-C

The Orissa High Court on Wednesday disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the appointment of Prof Jagneshwar Dandapat as the in-charge vice-chancellor (V-C) of Utkal University, following the state government's decision to cancel the appointment.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Cuttack

Filed by high court lawyer and alumnus of Utkal University Prabir Kumar Das, the PIL had questioned the legality of the May 27 appointment, citing non-compliance with Section 6(10) of the Odisha Universities Act, 1989. Das contended that the procedure for appointing an acting V-C had not been followed. When the matter was taken up by the division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MR Pathak, Advocate General Pitambar Acharya informed the court that the Chancellor of the university – the Governor of Odisha – had on July 22 issued an order cancelling the appointment of Prof Dandapat, a senior