Supreme Court Ends West Bengal Governor–State Government Standoff Over Vice Chancellor Appointments, Sets Four-Week Deadline
The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal Governor to appoint vice chancellors to three state universities within four weeks, bringing an end to the prolonged deadlock over VC appointments
The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal Governor to appoint vice chancellors to three state universities from names shortlisted by the UU Lalit-led panel.
The Supreme Court on Friday brought an end to the long-standing tussle between the West Bengal government and Governor R N Ravi over appointments of vice chancellors in state universities, directing the Governor to appoint vice chancellors to three remaining universities within four weeks.
The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed that the appointments be made from the names shortlisted by a search-cum-selection committee headed by former Chief Justice of India UU Lalit.
The Court said that, after completion of procedural formalities, the shortlisted candidates should be appointed as vice chancellors of North Bengal University, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology and Netaji Subhash Open University.
With this direction, the Court effectively resolved the dispute that had persisted between the office of the Governor, who serves as Chancellor of state universities, and the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government regarding appointments in 36 state-aided universities.
The bench expressed satisfaction over the resolution process and recorded its appreciation for the efforts made by former CJI UU Lalit, Attorney General R Venkataramani appearing for the Governor’s office, and senior advocate Jaideep Gupta representing the West Bengal government.
The Court thereafter disposed of the petition filed by the West Bengal government in 2023 concerning the appointment issue.
The dispute had its roots in disagreements between the Governor and the state government over control and authority relating to appointments of vice chancellors in state-run universities. In an attempt to resolve the deadlock, the Supreme Court had on July 8, 2024 constituted a search-cum-selection committee headed by former CJI UU Lalit to oversee and facilitate the appointment process.
The matter was also linked to the broader constitutional dispute over the West Bengal Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022, passed by the state legislature. The Bill sought to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as Chancellor of all state-run universities in West Bengal.
Notably, in January, the Court had recorded that the following Vice-Chancellors have been agreed upon: Ayan Bhattacharya for Sanskrit College & University; Sanchari Roy Mukherjee for Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University; Nimai Chandra Saha for Harichand Guruchand University; Arnab Sen for Raiganj University; Mita Banerjee for Diamond Harbour Women’s University; Arunasis Goswami for Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University; Debabrata Basu for Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya; and Debabrata Mitra for West Bengal State University.
Previously, in October 2025, the Court had reviewed the recommendations of the Lalit Committee, tasked with evaluating candidates for the top academic posts. Justice Kant had directed that the appointments for universities where there is agreement proceed immediately.
The Supreme Court has previously directed both sides to work towards a resolution and had also sought the assistance of Justice (Retd.) U.U. Lalit in exploring a framework to settle the issues. The case has wide implications for higher education governance in West Bengal, with the fate of several university appointments hanging in balance amid the continuing standoff between the Raj Bhavan and the State.
It is to be noted that the Supreme Court in January 2025 had granted more time to West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose in order to finalise the appointment process for vice-chancellors in the state's universities.
Case Title: State of West Bengal v. Dr. Sanat Kumar Ghosh