HC upholds Madras University’s decision to appoint HoDs on rotation basis

Madras High Court upholds University of Madras decision for professors to rotate as HoD, emphasizing equal opportunity and improvement.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday upheld the validity of a decision taken by the University of Madras to give an opportunity to all the professors in a department to act as the Head of the Department (HoD) on a rotation basis instead of the senior most professor occupying the post until retirement from service.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar dismissed a writ petition filed by M. Srinivasan, HoD of Criminology, challenging an amendment made to the statutes of the university in 2023 for introducing the designation of HoD on rotation basis in order to give an opportunity to all professors.

The Bench agreed with the university standing counsel V. Sudha that the position of HoD was not a promotional post, which carried any higher scale of pay, but just an additional responsibility given to professors belonging to a homogenous group and therefore, all members of such a group must be get an opportunity to hold the post.

Stating that every professor may have his/her own vision and ideas for the improvement and development of the department concerned, the judges said: “Multiple ideas from individual professors would be of greater assistance for the improvement of a department in a university.”

They also wrote: “Admittedly, there is neither alteration of service conditions nor any higher scale of pay fixed for the post of HoD. In the absence of any alteration in the service conditions, the post cannot be claimed as an absolute right by the professors.”

Authoring the verdict, Justice Subramaniam said, the previous system of the seniormost professor continuing to hold the post of HoD until retirement was not a desirable practice. “It will only result in denial of opportunity to other aspiring senior professors,” he observed.

Taking note that the university had followed all procedures before amending the statute by obtaining the approval of the Senate, Syndicate as well as the Chancellor, the judges held that the amendment does not violate any of the provisions of the Madras University Act, 1923.