Aligarh (Shozab Muneer)
The Act of Parliament establishing Aligarh Muslim University empowers the Vice Chancellor under Section 19(3) emergency powers to use the powers of the various bodies of the University if the situation requires an immediate attention. These powers allow the Vice Chancellor to use powers of the statutory bodies of the University, such as Executive Council, in case of an emergency, which then has to be reported to the body that has the right to disagree with the action. The Regulations of the University specify the situations under which such powers can be used, such as, an urgent Executive Council cannot be convened or if there is a long time before an ordinary meeting of the body is scheduled. The emergency powers can then only be used if no other alternative of available, since ideally all matters require deliberations of the concerned body.
The AMU Registrar can be on deputation from a the government under clause 3(f) of Chapter III of Executive Ordinances. The present Registrar was on such a deputation for a period of two years vide OM no. Admin/ED/183/NT dated 17.07.2022, and therefore an extension was required from the Ministry in the deputation as per the requirement of the Ordinances. The mentioned clause of the Executive Ordinances mentions that the government rules for such extensions are to be followed. In turn the University requested for a extension in the deputation of the Registrar, which was granted.
An Office Memo (OM) of extension was issued on 11.09.2024 vide OM no. Admin/ED/71/NT/AA for a period of one year w.e.f. 12.09.2024. The office memo mentions that it has been issued under section 19(3) on behalf of Executive Council as provided Statute 5(3). Interestingly Statute 5(3) does not mention either deputation or the approval by the Executive Council. . In fact the very clause mentions that it is power of the Vice Chancellor to make arrangement for the looking after the office of the Regsitrar, in case of the post of the Registrar is vacant or the Registrar is ill or he is absent or for any other cause unable to perform duties of the office.
However, this was not the case for the present Registrar who was working on deputation, which was to expire and an extension was the only thing required. Clause 9 of the Government Deputation rules state that the extension is to be granted by the Government and does not mention a requirement thereafter of an approval by any body of the institute requesting extension. The only condition it lays down is of an application for extension three months prior to completion of deputation of the personnel. The University made such a request and therefore the extension granted by the Government.
In the above case legal experts opine there was absolutely no need to use emergency powers as there was no requirement of approval of the Executive Council. The experts assert that only a notification through an OM as a follow up action mentioning the sanctioning of the extension by the Government, which falls under the powers of the Vice Chancellor. There has been much about these emergency powers that has created a poor image of the University. The President of India, in the capacity of Visitor of the University and Courts on several occasions have expressed adverse opinions on such arbitrary use of emergency powers. Senior teachers of the University suggest that in order to develop efficacious an functioning Universities rules should be followed and proper file noting should be insisted on by and from the officers of the University, who are presupposed to know the rules. The recent happening point to the imagining that personnel of the University does not know the rules and all is done in the University on whims and fancies and pressure groups, who care least for rules and regulations of the University
In this regard MIC PRO AMU refused to commment
