A petition challenging the selection process for the Aligarh Muslim University’s (AMU) vice chancellor has been filed in the Allahabad High Court after the acting VC’s wife appeared on the shortlist.
A bench of Justice Vikas Budhwar has scheduled a hearing for November 16 on the plea filed by Syed Afzal Murtaza Rizvi, a professor in Jamia Millia Islamia’s computer science department.
In a recent meeting of AMU’s governing body, the final three candidates were shortlisted for the VC position, including the acting vice chancellor’s wife. Acting VC Mohammad Gulrez’s wife, Naima Khatoon, who serves as the principal of AMU’s Women’s College, received 50 votes from the members of the AMU Court, the governing body. The other two shortlisted candidates, M Uruj Rabbani and Faizan Mustafa, received 61 and 53 votes, respectively.
During a University Executive Council meeting chaired by Gulrez, five candidates were initially selected to be sent to the AMU Court. Later, the governing body reduced the list to three, omitting the names of Furqan Qamar and Qayyum Hussain.
The inclusion of Naima Khatoon in the shortlist, overseen by the acting VC, has raised concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest. Eight members of the governing body present at the meeting to shortlist candidates have lodged a strong dissent note questioning the process.
However, the university spokesperson clarified that there’s nothing within the institution’s statutes preventing the Vice Chancellor from presiding over a meeting in which their spouse is a candidate.
The three shortlisted candidates for the VC position will be submitted to President Droupadi Murmu, the university’s Visitor, who will make the final selection. If appointed, Khatoon would become the first woman to hold the position of AMU VC.
