Supreme Court Bring into Question the Applicability of UGC Rules on AMU
The bench stated that the petition filed by Ahmad and other petitions which were pending would be called for the hearing on January 20, 2017.
As per a UGC regulation, a person with a minimum of ten years teaching experience is eligible for the position of Vice-Chancellor. However, Ahmad, an advocate filed a petition in Supreme Court stating that UGC regulations are not applicable to Aligarh Muslim University or AMU.
On January 16, 2017, Supreme Court raised a question on how the regulations of UGC violate the constitutional rights and minority status of AMU. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Chief Justice J.S. Khehar clarified that the court does not find any violation of minority rights regarding the UGC regulation. The bench sought the provisions of Aligarh Muslim University Act which have been violated by the regulations of University Grants Commission.
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The bench stated that the petition filed by Ahmad and other petitions which were pending would be called for the hearing on January 20, 2017. According to Ahmad, UGC regulations are not applicable to minority institutions like Aligarh Muslim University. He claimed that minority institutes have the autonomy to look after its affairs.
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The issue started when Aligarh Muslim University appointed Lt. Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah as Vice-Chancellor. He does not have ten years of teaching experience as per UGC regulations. This particular appointment made by the varsity had been challenged in the apex court.
According to Ministry of Human Resource and Development, UGC regulations apply to all the central universities, and they need to follow them strictly. On the other, AMU had adopted UGC regulations on December 6, 2010. The varsity is not allowed to break the regulations by appointing VC from a non-education background.