PAU VC Gosal's appointment illegal, remove him: Governor to Bhagwant Mann

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 18

In what appears to be a further escalation of the tussle between him and the AAP-led state government, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to remove Dr Satbir Singh Gosal from the post of Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

Give charge to agri secy

The charge of the PAU VC may be handed over to the Administrative Secretary of the Agriculture Department till the appointment of a new VC. — Banwarilal Purohit, Punjab Governor

This came a week after Purohit, who happens to be the Chancellor of the state-run universities, had refused to approve the appointment of the state government’s pick, noted cardiologist Dr Gurpreet Singh Wander, for the VC’s post at the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.

A renowned biotechnologist, Dr Gosal, who turned 68 on October 1, was appointed the PAU VC on August 20, a year after his predecessor BS Dhillon’s extended term expired. Following Dhillon’s exit, senior IAS officers of the Additional Chief Secretary rank, heading the Agriculture Department, had been heading the PAU as administrative heads.

In a letter to the CM, a copy of which is with The Tribune, the Governor wrote that it had been brought to his notice that the government had appointed Dr Gosal as the PAU VC “without following the UGC norms and approval of the Chancellor”. “This act of the state government is totally illegal and cannot be accepted,” he noted. He said since Dr Gosal had been appointed by the government, the CM was requested to remove him without a delay.

“The charge of the PAU VC may be handed over to the Administrative Secretary of the Agriculture Department till the appointment of a new VC,” the Governor said, while asking the CM to initiate the process to appoint the new VC in consultation with the Chancellor. Dr Gosal, however, remained incommunicado despite repeated calls and messages.

SC judgment

In a judgment quashing the appointment of the VC of Sardar Patel University, the Supreme Court Division Bench of MR Shah and BV Nagarathna had on March 3, 2022, ordered, “In case of any conflict between the state and the Central legislation, the Central legislation shall prevail by applying the rule/principle of repugnancy as enunciated in Article 254 of the Constitution as the subject “education” is in the concurrent list (List III) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Therefore, any appointment as a VC contrary to the provisions of the UGC regulations can be said to be in violation of the statutory provisions, warranting a writ of quo warranto.”

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