HC gets tough on 'unqualified' professors of law varsity

: The Madras High Court Friday directed all the teaching staff of the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University to furnish affidavits explaining their terms of appointment, including their qualification, to weed out unqualified professors and lecturers appointed by favouritism.

The teaching staff has been asked to file sworn affidavits by February 20

Justice S M Subramaniam, in an interim order, said the court would scrutinise each affidavit independently and check whether the appointments were according to the norms of the University Grants Commission.

If not, they would face the consequences, the judge said.

The order was passed based on a plea by professor of the university D Sankar seeking the court to remove unqualified persons from the service of the university enabling the students to get proper and good legal education.

 

There was a general allegation that students are not respecting teachers, the petitioner said.

If the teachers were unqualified and not able to take classes properly how would the students respect them. One should command respect, not demand it, Justice Subramaniam said.

The court could see appointments made by favouritism, he said.

After two years of such appointment on contractual basis, silently proposals would be sent to the state government and such persons' service would be regularised, he said.

Expressing disappointment over such issues, the judge said that the court was concerned over the welfare of the students and the institution as it would directly affect the quality of future lawyers and judges society would get.

This apart, as the former vice-chancellor of the university P Vanangamudi who is a party responded to the plea disputed the qualification of the present vice-chancellor Tamma Suryanarayana Sastry, the judge directed the UGC to file a report on the educational and other qualification for the post.

The court then impleaded all the serving teaching staff of the university as respondents to the plea and directed them to file the affidavits by February 20.