Mumbai University's vice chancellor Rajan Welukar's appointment still under court scrutiny

Mumbai University's vice chancellor Rajan Welukar's appointment was challenged in the Bombay high court the day he was appointed to the post in July 2010. There is one petition challenging whether Welukar met the essential criterion for the post pending in the Supreme Court also. The petitioners have challenged Welukar's academic credentials, mainly his research publications.

Welukar's five-year term will expire in July 2015. On August 10, 2011 a division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice Girish Godbole gave a split verdict on the issue. While justice Shah agreed that Welukar had all the required qualifications, justice Godbole noted that of the 12 publications/problems claimed by Welukar, only five could be considered as they had been posted in September 2004, and directed the search committee to decide whether they fulfilled the criteria.

The matter was referred to a single judge, justice SJ Vazifdar, who on February 22, 2012 agreed with justice Godbole, but could not decide on the issue. Thereafter, on May 11, 2012 the matter was referred to a new division bench of justices PV Hardas and AS Gadkari. The final verdict is yet to be pronounced.