The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the Central Government, Jamia Millia Islamia University, and others in response to a plea challenging the legality of Professor Mazhar Asif’s appointment as Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia.
The plea raises objections on multiple grounds, including claims of the Search Committee’s unlawful constitution and the Chairman’s improper nomination.
It alleges interference by the Union Ministry of Education, which purportedly influenced the Visitor to select a Chairman from two nominees provided by the Ministry.
Furthermore, the plea asserts that the Ministry of Education’s involvement in the Vice Chancellor’s appointment process violated statutory procedures and contravened the principles established by the Supreme Court.
Chetan Sharma, Additional Solicitor General representing the University, and Monika Arora, Central Government Standing Counsel for the Union of India, have challenged the maintainability of the writ petition on several grounds.
These include questioning the petitioner’s locus standi and the permissible scope of a writ of quo warranto.
They also raised concerns regarding “Summary Notes” annexed to the petition, which the Union of India submitted to the President of India, the Visitor of the University.
They called on the petitioner to disclose how these documents came into their possession and to affirm the authenticity of these annexures as true copies of their originals.
Additionally, Arora invoked Article 74(2) of the Constitution, which prevents judicial examination of ministerial advice given to the President.
On the other side, Dr. Amit George, counsel for the petitioner, argued that judicial precedents permit any citizen to file for a writ of quo warranto without being subject to strict locus standi restrictions. He also stated that the referenced documents were publicly accessible on a news website.
Acknowledging the submissions, Justice Prateek Jalan issued a notice to the Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia University, and others in the matter, scheduling the case for further hearing on July 16, 2025. The court also directed four individual members of the Executive Council to be impleaded as respondents in the writ petition.
The plea, filed through Advocate Rakshita Goyal, asserts that the entire process leading to the contested appointment of Professor Mazhar Asif as Vice Chancellor is a colorable exercise of power.
It claims that the process blatantly violates statutory provisions and disregards regulations outlined in Statute 2(1) of the Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988, as well as Clause 7.3 of the UGC Regulations, 2018.
The plea argues that such an appointment must be annulled and set aside under the authority granted to the Court by Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
(With inputs from ANI)
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