HC Halts Prof Lokanath’s Appointment as Mysore University VC

The appointment of Prof Lokanath N K as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore has been stayed by the Karnataka High Court. Prof Sharath Ananthamurthy from the University of Hyderabad challenged the appointment, alleging violations of rules.

The petition claims that Prof Lokanath, facing criminal charges, is not qualified for the position. The court issued an interim stay and adjourned the hearing.

The petition argues that ”The 5th Respondent (Prof Lokanath) is not eligible to be considered for the post of Vice-Chancellor his candidature has been rejected by notifying his name in the merit list on the ground that his appointment is in dispute and thus the search committee has recommended the names as per merit and forwarded to the State government.”

However, the authorities allegedly disregarded UGC regulations by including his name in the panel. Prof Sharath had applied for the post on November 18, 2022.

Another applicant, Prof H Rajashekar, challenged the remarks against his name in the main list. The court disposed of that petition on March 6, 2023, instructing authorities to strictly follow the rules for the appointment. However, the Search Committee submitted a new list on March 16, which included Prof Lokanath’s name. Despite the alleged ineligibility of Prof Lokanath, he was selected as the Vice-Chancellor on March 23. Prof Sharath claims that he is eligible for the position but was not considered.

The petition alleged that ”The petitioner is fully eligible and qualified to be considered for selection and appointment as Vice- Chancellor as he does not suffer from any disqualification. Nevertheless the 5th Respondent who is otherwise ineligible has been selected and appointed and the same has resulted in overlooking the merit of the Petitioner which has resulted in denial of right of the petitioner being selected which in turn resulted in irreparable injury to the petitioner though he is eligible on all counts he has been denied.”

The petitioner, Prof Sharath, is the son of the late UR Ananthamurthy, a renowned Kannada writer.