DIBRUGARH, Oct 9 � The Supreme Court of India in its order dated September 30, 2013 has �dismissed� a Special Leave Application No. 26237/ 2012 (Civil) submitted by some petitioners against the �dismissal� of the PIL (No. 22/2011) filed by them in the Gauhati High Court claiming that the appointment of Dr Kandarpa Kumar Deka as the Vice Chancellor of the Dibrugarh University was not in conformity with the provisions of the Act of the University.
Dr Deka was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University on March 31, 2008 for a term of five years by the then Governor of Assam and Chancellor, Dibrugarh University.
Interestingly, after about three years of his service as the Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University, six students of the university filed a PIL in the Gauhati High Court on March 14, 2011 claiming that the appointment of Dr Deka as the Vice Chancellor was not in conformity with the provisions of the Act of the University.
The Gauhati High Court �dismissed� the PIL on May 3, 2012 stating that Dr Deka was qualified for the post of the Vice Chancellor. Some of the petitioners of the PIL then filed a Special Leave Application (No. 26237/2012) before the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court in its Order on September 30, 2013 also �dismissed� the petition.
�The verdicts of both the High Court and Supreme Court have justified my appointment as the Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University,� Dr Deka told this newspaper today, even as he could barely hide his contentment.
It may be mentioned that the Gauhati High Court by its order dated 03/05/2012 had dismissed the PIL stating that, �We, thus, find no ground to interfere with the appointment of respondent No. 4 (Dr. K.K. Deka) as Vice Chancellor of the University.� On the matter of appointment of Dr KK Deka as VC of Dibrugarh University, the High Court had also stated in the order that, �At best, there is irregularity of form.�
It is on this that the petitioners had filed an SLP in the apex court and the same was admitted on September 14, 2012. It may be mentioned that the name of Dr Deka did not appear in the three-member panel submitted by the search committee constituted for the purpose of appointing a VC for the university here in 2011. The Supreme Court order is expected to cool down the issue of DU VC�s appointment which had rocked the university for several years.