Governor as chancellor of universities

Polity & Governance glossary

Topic: State Government: Governor, Chief Minister, State Legislature and Union Territories · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Governor as chancellor of universities is a role that state university Acts (ordinary laws passed by state legislatures) give to the Governor. As chancellor, the Governor is the formal head of state universities and usually appoints their vice-chancellors (VCs). No Article of the Constitution gives this role.

It matters because this role has become a major point of Centre–state conflict. Governors and elected state governments have clashed over VC appointments in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Several states have passed bills to take the role away from the Governor.

Explanation

How the role works

  • Chancellor: the formal head of a university. The chancellor:
  • usually appoints the vice-chancellor, who runs the university day to day;

  • presides over convocations (the ceremonies where degrees are given).

  • Source of the power: each state university Act. The power does not come from the Constitution.

  • This makes it a statutory role, meaning a role created by an ordinary law.
  • So the state legislature can change the law and remove the Governor as chancellor.

The "advice or alone" question

  • The general rule: under Art. 163, the Governor must usually act on the aid and advice of the state Council of Ministers, which is headed by the Chief Minister. The Governor can act alone only where the Constitution allows it.
  • The debate: the chancellor's role comes from a state law, not the Constitution. People disagree on whether the Governor:
  • must follow the advice of ministers when acting as chancellor; or

  • can act alone, using personal judgment.

  • The Kannur case (2023) treated VC reappointment there as the chancellor's own decision. The appointment was cancelled because the chancellor let the state government influence it.

Limits: UGC rules bind VC appointments

  • The University Grants Commission (UGC) is the central body that sets standards for higher education. Its regulations fix how VCs must be chosen.

  • The selection steps the courts insist on: 1. A search committee (the panel that looks for and shortlists candidates) is formed as UGC rules require. 2. The committee sends the chancellor a panel of names. A single name is not enough. 3. The chancellor appoints the VC from that panel.

  • Where a state law clashes with UGC regulations, the UGC regulations win.

  • UGC draft regulations (2025) would give the chancellor a larger role in choosing VCs. Several opposition-ruled states passed resolutions against them (verify current status).

In the Constitution and practice

  • Legal source: state university Acts. No Article of the Constitution creates the chancellorship.
  • Related Articles:
  • Art. 155: the President appoints the Governor. In practice, the Union government chooses the person.
  • Art. 156: the Governor holds office "during the pleasure of the President". This is why states often see the Governor as the Centre's agent.
  • Art. 163: aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

  • Art. 200: the Governor can give assent to a bill, withhold assent, or reserve it for the President.

  • Landmark cases:

  • Gambhirdan K. Gadhvi v. State of Gujarat (2022): the Supreme Court cancelled a VC's appointment because the selection did not follow UGC rules. UGC regulations win over a conflicting state law.

  • Prof. Sreejith P.S. v. Dr. Rajasree M.S. (2022): the Supreme Court cancelled the appointment of the VC of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University in Kerala. The search committee had sent only one name, but it must send a panel of names.

  • Key flashpoints:

Year State What happened
2022 Kerala Relying on Sreejith, the Governor asked nine VCs to resign.
2023 Kerala (Kannur University) The Supreme Court cancelled the VC's reappointment because the chancellor let the state government influence a decision meant to be the chancellor's alone.
2024 West Bengal After a long dispute between the state and the Governor, the Supreme Court set up a search-cum-selection committee headed by former CJI U.U. Lalit to recommend VCs.
2025 Tamil Nadu Bills giving VC appointments to the state were among the ten bills in the Supreme Court's 2025 ruling on the Governor's delay in giving assent.
  • How states responded:
  • Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab passed bills to remove the Governor as chancellor, or to let the state government appoint VCs.

  • Many of these bills were then held up at the assent stage under Art. 200. The Governor, whose powers the bills would cut, was the person who had to sign them.

  • Punchhi Commission (2010):

  • Governors should not be given statutory posts such as chancellor.
  • Such posts expose the office to controversy and public criticism.
  • The state will naturally want to regulate university education, so a clash of powers should not be kept alive.
  • This recommendation has not been made binding law.

Don't confuse with

  • Constitutional powers of the Governor: powers such as giving assent to bills (Art. 200) or addressing the House (Art. 176) come from the Constitution. The chancellorship comes only from state laws, so a state legislature can take it away without amending the Constitution.
  • Chancellor vs. vice-chancellor: the chancellor (usually the Governor) is the formal head and appoints the VC. The vice-chancellor is the officer who actually runs the university day to day.
  • Punchhi vs. Sarkaria: Punchhi (2010) said Governors should hold no chancellorships or other statutory posts. Sarkaria (1988) dealt with appointment, tenure and reserving bills. Its chancellorship-free recommendation is not the one to remember.
  • UGC regulations vs. state university Acts: where the two conflict on VC selection, UGC regulations win (Gadhvi, Sreejith, 2022).

Prelims Hooks

  • The Governor's role as university chancellor comes from state university Acts, not from any Article of the Constitution.
  • Gambhirdan K. Gadhvi (2022): a VC appointment that did not follow UGC regulations was cancelled. UGC rules override a conflicting state law.
  • Sreejith P.S. v. Rajasree M.S. (2022): the search committee must send the chancellor a panel of names, not a single name. The case concerned APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala.
  • West Bengal (2024): the Supreme Court set up a VC search-cum-selection committee headed by former CJI U.U. Lalit.
  • Punchhi Commission (2010), not Sarkaria, recommended that Governors hold no statutory posts such as chancellor.
  • Trap: states that passed bills to remove the Governor as chancellor include Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Many of these bills got stuck at the Art. 200 assent stage.

Mains Points

  • The chancellorship trade-off:
  • For the Governor as chancellor: an independent chancellor can shield universities from state politics. In the Kannur case (2023), the chancellor was faulted for yielding to the state government.
  • Against: an unelected Governor who holds office at the President's pleasure (Art. 156) becomes a parallel power centre. This has caused deadlocks in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

  • Punchhi's answer: Governors should hold no statutory posts, and UGC standards should protect quality.

  • Reform option: leave the chancellorship to the states. State laws can name the CM, the education minister or an eminent academic as chancellor. UGC standards from Gadhvi and Sreejith would still bind VC selection. To prevent such bills from being stalled, this could be paired with a time limit for assent under Art. 200, linked to the Supreme Court's 2025 ruling in the Tamil Nadu case.

  • A federal question: universities are run under state laws. But UGC regulations, including the draft 2025 rules that would widen the chancellor's role, and a Union-chosen Governor both pull control towards the Centre. The disputes show that the line between state autonomy in education and national academic standards needs to be drawn clearly in law.

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