SC dismisses plea against Naima Khatoon’s appointment as AMU VC
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Professor Naima Khatoon as the first woman vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi refused to interfere with the appointment, which had earlier been upheld by the Allahabad High Court earlier this year.
The plea, filed by Professors Muzaffar Uruj Rabbani and Faizan Mustafa, questioned Khatoon’s appointment on the grounds that her husband, Professor Mohd Gulrez, who was the then officiating vice-chancellor of AMU, presided over the Executive Council and University Court meeting that included Khatoon’s name in the panel sent to the Visitor.
The matter had previously come up before a bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria. Justice Chandran recused himself from the hearing, noting that as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, he had been involved in the appointment of one of the petitioners, Faizan Mustafa, as vice-chancellor of Chanakya National Law University, Patna.