Senior professors at Bharathiar University contemplate legal remedy after HC upholds headship rotation policy
Senior professors at Bharathiar University are considering legal action after the High Court upheld a policy requiring the rotation of department headships every three years. The professors argue that the university failed to follow proper administrative procedures for the policy change.
Why it matters
The case reflects the tension between institutional administrative autonomy and the application of national academic standards regarding seniority and rotation.
Senior professors at Bharathiar University whose headship of departments was withdrawn last year, after the policy of once-in-three-years rotation of the post came into effect, are understood to be contemplating legal remedy in the wake of a ruling by the High Court favouring UGC’s norms on rotation of headship among professors.
They had approached the High Court citing Section 45(3) of the Bharathiar University Act, 1981, which states that “a person appointed as the Head of the Department shall hold office, as such, for a period of three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment”. They had also cited restoration of headship in one of the departments during 2022, on this basis.
The University administration had enforced the policy of rotation last year following a directive from the Higher Education Department.
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