Patna HC reinstates Bihar university registrar removed by governor in 2024

Justice Anjani Kumar Sharan quashed the order transferring Sanjay Kumar from the university in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur to his parent college on June 20, 2024

PATNA: The Patna high court on Friday reinstated Sanjay Kumar as Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University registrar, who was removed on the orders of former governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, and replaced with Aparajita Krishna in June last year.

Patna HC reinstates Bihar university registrar removed by governor in 2024

Justice Anjani Kumar Sharan quashed the order transferring Sanjay Kumar from the university in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur to his parent college on June 20, 2024, two days after Aparajita Krishna was appointed as registrar. The bench said Kumar was removed without citing any cogent reasons and Krishna was appointed despite being ineligible.

“The appointment of Aparajita Krishna as registrar in spite of her being ineligible in flagrant violation of the statutory mandatory requirement as contained in Section 15 of Bihar State University Act, 1976 is unsustainable in eyes of law and as such both the orders - one for appointment of Krishna and another for removal of Sanjay Kumar - are hereby quashed and set aside,” justice Sharan said.

The high court also held Kumar’s removal was “bad in law and could set a bad precedent for appointment of any person without there being any cogent reasons for the same or without even being anything to show as to why was such a person considered for the post”.

The ruling was passed on a petition by Sanjay Kumar, who was appointed registrar on June 5, 2023, to challenge his termination a year later on the pretext of transferring him without following the principles of natural justice, without any notice to the petitioner and without following the guidelines of the chancellor’s secretariat.

The governor is the ex-officio chancellor of the state universities.

The court observed that “if there is a prescribed process for termination of any person from the post of registrar, such process cannot be simply brushed aside by saying that this procedure is not applicable on the orders made by the chancellor. If this is to be accepted then the process prescribed will be reduced to an eyewash which can be used and negated at convenience.”

The court also rejected Krishna’s contention on the ground that she failed to prove the desired eligibility for the post of registrar. “No appointment letter has been produced from her. She has merely produced a certificate and a confirmation letter, which don’t prove her eligibility,” the court added.

After the high court order, Kumar approached BRABU vice chancellor Dinesh Chandra Rai to ascertain the modalities of rejoining his post but was told that the university would seek the chancellor’s guidance.

“I am not the appointing authority, nor I had removed Sanjay Kumar. I will seek direction from Raj Bhawan in view of the court order. He was removed by the chancellor’s order and a new registrar was also appointed by the Chancellor’s order,” Rai told HT.