Uncertainty over fate of MKU search panel

Madurai: The resignation of Mu Ramaswamy from a search committee set up to recommend a panel of names for appointment as Madurai Kamaraj University vice-chancellor has created an unprecedented situation.
This is the first time in the history of higher education in the state that a member has resigned from a search committee before the panel has completed its task.
The state has 13 universities, each governed by its own statue that clearly defines the procedure for appointment of vice chancellor by constituting a search committee. It is learnt that the universities' statues, including those of MKU, say nothing on steps be taken when a committee member leaves before the its task is completed.
To a question by TOI, former counsel of the MKU Isaac Mohanlal and present panel counsel of the MKU T Sakthikumaran said the MKU Act was silent on what should be done if a person resigns from the search committee, and on whether a new member could be nominated.
"The resigned member was nominated from the MKU's senate and thus the senate could nominate a new member to the search committee to complete the task," said retired prof. P Vijayakumar.
However, senior academicians M Ananthakrishnan and S P Thyagarajan who took part in different search committees in the past expressed different opinions. "If a person goes half way through the task, the committee will get automatically dissolved and a new committee will be constituted as per the convention of the VC appointment system," said Thyagarajan, former vice-chancellor of Madras University. A search committee set up for appointment of the VC to Madras University was dissolved by the then Tamil Nadu governor Channa Reddy, he said.
Recalling that incident, the former VC of Anna University M Anandakrishnan said the committee had leaked the names in the VC panel and thus the governor dissolved it. "As far as MKU is concerned, there are two options - dissolving the present search committee or nominating a new member from the Senate, if the law permits it. If anything happens against the legal provisions, then it would invite court intervention."
Amid this scenario, it remains unclear whether the resignation of Ramaswamy has been accepted by MKU.
"Ramaswamy's resignation letter, which was received by the MKU registrar (in-charge) A Muthumanickam, has been sent to the state's higher education secretary Selvi Apoorva, convenor of the MKU's syndicate committee. As of now no instruction has come from the higher education secretary," an officer in the university.