The state higher education department has rescinded the order by which Saikat Maitra, the vice-chancellor of state’s technology university, was reappointed for a four-year term starting from February 2021.

Malayendu Saha, the chairman of the state JEE board, has been appointed as the VC of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) for a period of six months or till the appointment of next vice-chancellor.

However, Maitra on Monday moved Calcutta High Court challenging the removal and the court has granted an interim stay. Justice Kaushik Chandra is scheduled to hear the case again on Tuesday.

The removal of Maitra came to light after the department sent through an email notification on July 29 stating: “The governor is hereby pleased…..to rescind the department’s order dated 26.2.21 with immediate effect. It is further ordered that Malayendu Saha, the chairman of the joint entrance examination board..shall be temporarily in charge of the office of the VC, in addition to his duties….”

Uttam Kumar Mondal, the lawyer of Maitra said the removal was “illegal” as the notification did not cite any reason explaining why the VC was forced to discontinue midway through his reappointed term.

Bratya Basu explained the reasons behind the removal at a press conference on Monday evening.

He said the “removal of difficulty clause” under which Maitra was reappointed as the VC, was not applicable according to the statute of the technology university. An official of the department said, since the previous chancellor and the former governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, won’t accept the recommendations of the state government in the appointment of VC, the clause had to be invoked in as many as 24 universities, including MAKAUT.

“According to the statute of the university, the removal of difficulty clause cannot be applicable anymore. He was reappointed from February 2021. We sought the opinion of the legal department. The legal department has told us this reappointment order is no longer tenable by applying this clause. Therefore he no longer can continue beyond July 26,” Basu said.

Maitra was first appointed as the VC of MAKAUT in February 2021 for a period of four years.

The reappointment notification of Saikat Maitra issued by the higher education department on February 26, 2021, says as the search committee constituted by the department could not come up with the recommendations over who would be next full-term VC after the expiry of Maitra’s first term and the office of the VC could not be left vacant, the department had sent a proposal to then chancellor in terms rule 9 of West Bengal State Universities (Terms and conditions of the VC) Rules 2019.

The rule says: “In case of appointment of VC of a university, the chancellor shall maintain the order of preference of names placed before him.”

“Whereas the constituting Act of the university (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad of University of Technology, West Bengal Act, 2000) is silent in regard to the best action in such situation and there is no other option but to invoke the provisions of section 30 of the said Act in view of removing the present difficult arises due to the non-approval of the department’s proposal by the Hon’ble chancellor,” said an official of the department. Metro sought to know from Basu whether absence of the removal of difficulty was a reason behind the replacement of Maitra or was there any other reason?

“As there is no removal of the difficulty section in the constituting Act of MAKAUT, we have recalled the earlier order on the advice of the law department,” Basu stated.