Amid a festering dispute between Governor C V Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Supreme Court has said only regular vice-chancellors shall be appointed to head all the 36 state-aided universities in West Bengal.

In a bid to end the tussle between the two top constitutional functionaries in the state over appointment of VCs, the apex court had on July 8 constituted a search-cum-selection committee headed by former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit to oversee the appointments.

In an order passed on July 29, the apex court clarified that there should not be any interim arrangement with regard to the appointment of VCs.

"To be more specific, it is clarified that there shall be appointment of regular vice-chancellors in all the 36 state-aided universities," a bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan said.

The bench endorsed the suggestion put forth by the parties to the matter that the age of retirement of VCs of three universities -- Aliah University, West Bengal University of Health Sciences and West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences -- should be 65 years.

"For the remaining universities, the age of retirement of the vice-chancellor shall be 70 years," it said.

The court gave wide-ranging powers to the Justice Lalit-led panel to short-list eligible candidates for appointment as VCs.

"In addition, the chairperson will be free to co-opt any expert even from outside these lists at his discretion," the bench said.

The top court had earlier authorised the chairperson of the panel to constitute separate or joint search-cum-selection committees for one or more universities, keeping in view the nature of subjects/disciplines in which education is being imparted in such universities.

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