It will be Rathin Bandopadhyay. Everyone knows this. The TMC has earmarked him. Chandrachud will nominate an SC judge from Bengal to the selection committee and that person will rubber stamp it.
Rathin, Poddar and JK Das do not have the standing or credentials to be VC of NUJS. Neither does NKC, but his appointment was done via an opaque and arbitrary process, which I don't think will be repeated because Chandrachud is no Gogoi and actually cares about legal education.That said, there will still be a push for a Bengali VC from the TMC, so Chandrachud may relent there. In that case, corporate law professor Indrajit Dube (NLUM VC on leave from IIT) may be the frontrunner. He is actually a Bengali Dube and not a UP Dube. Below is a video of him speaking. In my view, the pros and cons would be as follows:
Pros:
- VC of an NLU, even if it is the newest and last-ranked one.
- He teaches corporate law and is starting a BBA LLB course at NLUM. So no nonsensical criminology focus.
Cons:
- TLC background and likely to resist Sudhir-style alumni hiring
- Weak academic credentials. His bio mentions a book by Lambert publishers and a journal called the US-China Law Review by David Publishers, both of which are listed as pay-to-publish scam publications on various sites. Most of his publications are co-authored with students or his wife, who is a criminal law professor. So you will see a laughable mix of publications on corporate law, crimes against women, environment etc.
NKC’s term ends this year or early next year, right? Who will be appointed after him? Second term for him? Another person from Bengal and one even more sympathetic to the TMC? Or perhaps a retired judge sympathetic to the establishment? Or a merit-based appointment which could see an NLU alum being appointed?
Among people from Bengal, two possibilities could be Rathin Bandopadhyay from North Bengal University or Indrajit Dube, currently VC of NLU Meghalaya. Or even AK Poddar or JK Das. Another possibility is a retired judge.
Pros:
- VC of an NLU, even if it is the newest and last-ranked one.
- He teaches corporate law and is starting a BBA LLB course at NLUM. So no nonsensical criminology focus.
Cons:
- TLC background and likely to resist Sudhir-style alumni hiring
- Weak academic credentials. His bio mentions a book by Lambert publishers and a journal called the US-China Law Review by David Publishers, both of which are listed as pay-to-publish scam publications on various sites. Most of his publications are co-authored with students or his wife, who is a criminal law professor. So you will see a laughable mix of publications on corporate law, crimes against women, environment etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl3e_fb_bmE
https://www.iitkgp.ac.in/department/IP/faculty/ip-indrajit
Among people from Bengal, two possibilities could be Rathin Bandopadhyay from North Bengal University or Indrajit Dube, currently VC of NLU Meghalaya. Or even AK Poddar or JK Das. Another possibility is a retired judge.