K.S.JHAVERI - (1.) This petition is directed against the order passed by respondent no.1 dated 8.4.2005 whereby the State of Gujarat cancelled the nomination of the petitioner as Member of the Executive Council of the respondent Bhavnagar University by the Vice-Chancellor from 7.11.2003 in exercise of power under section 18(1)(iii) of the Act read with Statutes framed under the Act.
(2.) The short facts of the case as emerging from the petition are as under: (1) The petitioner is a Lecturer/Reader of Gujarati in the respondent Bhavnagar University. He has been teaching Gujarati to Postgradaute students of the Department of Gujarati in Bhavnagar University since last 14 years. (2) The petitioner was elected as a Member of the Court of Bhavnagar University constituted on 18.10.2003 from the constituency of the Teacher of University Department. There are two seats of teachers in the Executive Council of the University for this Constituency and there are some seats for undergraduate Teachers in the University Court. (3) In October 2003 the University Court was constituted. The petitioner and the respondent No.4, Dr. P.N. Bhatt were elected from the Constituency of the teacher of University Department (other than the heads of the Department). As per section 18(1)(vii) of the Bhavnagar University Act, one of the two teachers is to be nominated to the Executive Council by the respondent Vice-Chancellor in exercise of his powers vested in Statute 81(1)(iii). (4) The Vice-Chancellor, in the process, nominated the petitioner. The petitioner was not nominated even once from the very constituency in past as a member of the Executive Council. Therefore he was given preference in the nomination over the respondent No.4. In pursuance of the same a Circular was issued on 5.11.2003 by the Bhavnagar University constituting Executive Council on 7.11.2003 under section 18(1) of the Act.
(3.) Being aggrieved by the nomination of the petitioner as a Member of the Executive Council by the Vice-Chancellor of Respondent University, the respondent No.4 made a Reference Application to the State of Gujarat against the Vice-Chancellor on 17.11.2003. Since action of university was challenged, only University was joined as party respondent and the petitioner was not joined as a party to the Reference Application. It may not be out of place to notice that proceedings pending before the State Government were not known to the petitioner. (2) The State of Gujarat, after hearing the respondent University and respondent No.4, passed the order dated 8.4.2005 and thereby cancelled the decision of Vice Chancellor nominating the petitioner as a member of the Executive Council of the respondent Bhavnagar University and directed to appoint respondent No.4 as a Member of the Executive Council from the Constituency of the Teacher of University Department. (3) On coming to know about the aforesaid order the petitioner wrote a letter to the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar of University and copy therefore was sent to Chief Minister, Education Minister, etc. On 11.4.2005 the petitioner received a reply from the respondent University stating that the petitioner should approach the respondent State of Gujarat for redressal of the grievances in respect of the order dated 8.4.2005.;