IS IT REALLY THE "END" ???

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/row-over-american-college-principal-ends/article4363843.ece

Row over American College principal ends

The Madras High Court Bench here on Wednesday held that there was no illegality, bias or unfairness in the appointment of M. Davamani Christober as Principal of the American College here through a secret ballot system in 2011 when he was a member and his father-in-law A. Christopher Asir (since dead) was chairman of the college’s governing council.

A Division Bench of Justice M. Jaichandren and Justice S. Nagamuthu passed the order while allowing a writ appeal filed by the governing council. The appellant had challenged an order passed by a single judge last year quashing the appointment of Mr. Christober on the ground of bias. The order was passed in a writ petition filed by S. David Amirtha Rajan, an aspirant to the post of principal.

Setting aside the single judge’s order, the Division Bench held that Mr. Rajan could not question the selection process after having participated in it with the knowledge of the other contender being a member of the governing council and also a son-in-law of the council’s chairman.

“It would not be open to him to raise the issue relating to bias after he had been left out of the race at the final stage,” the Bench said.

Writing the judgement for the Bench, Mr. Justice Jaichandren also said that it was not in dispute that the American College was a government aided minority institution possessing the right to administer its own affairs as guaranteed under Article 30 of the Constitution.

It had the right to adopt a reasonable method to select the right candidate for the post of principal.

“Therefore, the final selection of the candidate for the post of principal by way of voting through a secret ballot cannot be said to be arbitrary or illegal even if it is found to unusual to some extent. Once it is found that the candidates who had been shortlisted for the final selection possess the basic qualifications, it is for the governing council to formulate its own reasonable method to take the final call,” the Bench added.

Mr. Rajan had raised another contention that Mr. Christober possessed a doctorate in Education and it was not a valid qualification for holding the post of principal as per the University Grant Commission Regulations issued in 2010.

Replying to it, the judges said that the validity of the qualification could be decided by Madurai Kamaraj University in consultation with the UGC within three months.

Until then, Mr. Christober must be allowed to function as the principal as per an appointment order passed in his favour on October 28, 2011.