The Bombay High Court on Thursday extended its interim relief given to economist and political analyst Ajit Ranade, who was terminated two weeks ago as the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune.
The bench of Justices MS Sonak and Kamal Khata said that the termination order will not be brought into effect till October 7 while the bench will hear Ranade’s plea on October 4.
The bench clarified that Professor Deepak Shah, who has been given executive powers and assigned daily administrative work by the institute due to the decision to terminate Ranade, will continue to discharge the same duties. Ranade will remain as VC till further orders.
Ranade had approached the court challenging the order passed on September 14, 2024, by which he was removed as the Vice Chancellor of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (a deemed University).
Termination of Ranade’s services was done by the Chancellor after a fact-finding committee found that his candidature and appointment did not conform to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) guidelines.
This committee was set up after a former faculty member in December 2023 filed a complaint to the UGC against Ranade’s appointment.
The UGC guidelines state that a vice-chancellor must have at least 10 years of continuous teaching experience as a professor in a recognised university or academic or educational institution.
Ranade, who has completed his PhD in Economics from US’s Brown University, has a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a B Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
Ranade has taught at universities in India and abroad. Before taking charge as vice-chancellor, he was group executive president and chief economist with the Aditya Birla Group.
Ranade’s sudden termination evoked a lot of responses from academicians as well as politicians who asked if the UGC guidelines were not considered before his appointment in the first place. Some even asked if Ranade’s vast experience could be washed away because of one rule in the book which sounded archaic.
