Prayagraj, May 17 – The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Naima Khatoon as the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), bringing closure to a case that had raised allegations of procedural irregularities and nepotism.
The petition was filed by Prof. Mujahid Beg, who alleged that the selection process for the vice-chancellorship had been manipulated to favour Khatoon, who is the wife of Mohammad Gulrez, the acting vice-chancellor at the time of the appointment.
Prof. Beg contended that Gulrez had overseen the selection process despite his spouse being a candidate, thereby violating norms and compromising the fairness of the procedure.
The division bench, comprising Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Donadi Ramesh, reserved its verdict on the matter on April 9 after detailed hearings from the legal representatives of the petitioner, AMU, and the central government.
Delivering its judgement on Saturday, the court rejected the claims of impropriety, effectively validating Khatoon's appointment as the head of the prestigious university.
This decision puts an end to weeks of speculation and legal contention surrounding the leadership at AMU.
