Justice DY Chandrachud writing the judgment for the Division Bench consisting of him and Justice Hima Kohli held that "Through these decisions, the Court has settled the position that the writ of quo warranto can be issued where an appointment has not been made in accordance with the law. Accordingly, the rival contentions must be analyzed by dealing with the scheme of the statutory provisions governing the appointment and reappointment of the VC."

The Bench passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by the State of West Bengal whereby the High Court at Calcutta allowed a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution. The HC held that the State Government has no authority to appoint or re-appoint the Vice-Chancellor under section 8 of the Calcutta University Act, 1979. The HC set aside the order of re-appointment of the incumbent VC of Calcutta University Dr. Sonali Chakravarti.

The Apex Court while considering the judgment in the case of Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha v. Dhobei Sahoo4 and Bharati Reddy v. State of Karnataka reported in 5 (2018) 6 SCC 162 noted that "a writ of quo warranto can be issued when: (i) A person holding public office lacks eligibility criteria prescribed for such appointment; and (ii) The appointment is made contrary to the statutory provisions or rules."

Case Details:-

Civil Appeal No. 6706 of 2022
State of West Bengal …Appellant
Vs.
Anindya Sundar Das & Ors. …Respondents 

Read the Complete Order on the following link:-

https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2022/29039/29039_2022_2_1502_38899_Judgement_11-Oct-2022.pdf