Chandigarh, Nov. 5 — Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said his government will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to challenge the Centre’s notification restructuring Panjab University, Chandigarh, calling it unconstitutional and an overreach of authority.
“The Punjab government will approach the high court against the issuance of a notification unconstitutionally dissolving the Senate and Syndicate of Panjab University, Chandigarh,” Mann said on X. He added that a team of eminent lawyers would be engaged to fight the notification.
Mann said the state would also raise the matter in the Punjab assembly to strengthen its legal and constitutional stance.
The central government, through an October 28 notification, reduced the number of members in the university’s senate from 97 to 31 and eliminated elections for the syndicate, its executive body. Previously, syndicate members were elected from among the senate members.
Criticising the Centre, Mann described the move as “dictatorial” and asserted that the government cannot amend the Panjab University Act, 1947, via a notification. “Any amendment in the Act must be done either by the state assembly or Parliament. This is a Nadar Shahi farman (arbitrary decree),” he said.
The notification represents a major overhaul of Panjab University, which has functioned for 142 years under its established governance system. The state government’s challenge signals a legal and political battle over the autonomy of the historic institution.
