It's been over 2 years now since Sudhir was appointed VC of NLSIU by a fantastic selection committee (KKV, MP Singh and Arvind Datar). We have undoubtedly seen many improvements made under Sudhir's tenure, especially in terms of faculty quality and fundraising. Meanwhile, NALSAR will get a new VC this year and Upendra Baxi has just been appointed to the selection committee. That is the first sign that the selection committee will be of high quality and a person with strong credentials will be chosen.
This naturally brings us to NUJS. To recap, the selection of the current VC was very controversial. The selection committee consisted of:
1. a controversial SC judge who gave little attention to the college, nominated by the then CJI (another controversial judge who gave even less attention to the college)
2. the controversial ex-Attorney General of Bengal (a little-known lawyer and TMC lackey, and someone the SJA had criticised in a letter)
3. a little-known judge appointed as acting CJ of the Cal HC for 2 months, after an unexpected backlog in judicial appointments under the Modi government (strange why the appointment couldn't happen either under the old acting CJ or wait till a new CJ took office just 3 weeks later).
4. even more controversially, an official spokesman of the TMC with no legal background (Suparno Moitra) was appointed as a fourth member of the committee, though removed after the SJA pointed out that it was ultra vires of the NUJS Act.
In the end, a person rejected as VC by many other NLUs was appointed.
When the next VC of NUJS is chosen, the major changes will be as follows:
1. The AG has changed. In complete contrast with the previous guy, the present one is a highly respected Cambridge-educated barrister. 2. Justice Chandrachud will probably be the CJI.
So the key questions to ask are:
1. When the appointment will take place 2. Who the likely contenders will be 3. If the SJA will intervene
Re point 1, the current VC was appointed in mid-2019. Is the term statutorily limited to 4 years (till mid-2023) or 5 years (till mid-2024)? Or is there no statutory limit? According to Wikipedia, Madhava Menon was VC for around 4-5 years, BS Chimni was VC for around 2-3 years and MP Singh was VC for around 7-8 years. According to old news reports from LI and Bar & Bench, Ishwara Bhat was supposed to be VC from 2011 to 2016, but his term was extended till he reached 65 years of age. It's not then clear when the current VC should resign, because he has crossed 65 years of age.
Re point 2, much will depend on the NALSAR appointment. If an NLU alum with international experience is appointed (like the Sudhir appointment), there will be pressure to follow suit. Questions will also be asked why NUJS had A-list academics as VCs under Left Front rule (Menon/Chimni/Singh) and why under TMC rule people like Bhat and the present guy were given the reigns.
Re point 3, it is anybody's guess what will happen, because the current juniors will become seniors by then.
This naturally brings us to NUJS. To recap, the selection of the current VC was very controversial. The selection committee consisted of:
1. a controversial SC judge who gave little attention to the college, nominated by the then CJI (another controversial judge who gave even less attention to the college)
2. the controversial ex-Attorney General of Bengal (a little-known lawyer and TMC lackey, and someone the SJA had criticised in a letter)
3. a little-known judge appointed as acting CJ of the Cal HC for 2 months, after an unexpected backlog in judicial appointments under the Modi government (strange why the appointment couldn't happen either under the old acting CJ or wait till a new CJ took office just 3 weeks later).
4. even more controversially, an official spokesman of the TMC with no legal background (Suparno Moitra) was appointed as a fourth member of the committee, though removed after the SJA pointed out that it was ultra vires of the NUJS Act.
In the end, a person rejected as VC by many other NLUs was appointed.
When the next VC of NUJS is chosen, the major changes will be as follows:
1. The AG has changed. In complete contrast with the previous guy, the present one is a highly respected Cambridge-educated barrister.
2. Justice Chandrachud will probably be the CJI.
So the key questions to ask are:
1. When the appointment will take place
2. Who the likely contenders will be
3. If the SJA will intervene
Re point 1, the current VC was appointed in mid-2019. Is the term statutorily limited to 4 years (till mid-2023) or 5 years (till mid-2024)? Or is there no statutory limit? According to Wikipedia, Madhava Menon was VC for around 4-5 years, BS Chimni was VC for around 2-3 years and MP Singh was VC for around 7-8 years. According to old news reports from LI and Bar & Bench, Ishwara Bhat was supposed to be VC from 2011 to 2016, but his term was extended till he reached 65 years of age. It's not then clear when the current VC should resign, because he has crossed 65 years of age.
Re point 2, much will depend on the NALSAR appointment. If an NLU alum with international experience is appointed
(like the Sudhir appointment), there will be pressure to follow suit. Questions will also be asked why NUJS had A-list academics as VCs under Left Front rule (Menon/Chimni/Singh) and why under TMC rule people like Bhat and the present guy were given the reigns.
Re point 3, it is anybody's guess what will happen, because the current juniors will become seniors by then.
What do people think?