Section 12 of the Central Universities Act, 2009: Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Section 12 of the Central Universities Act, 2009 deals with the appointment, service conditions, powers and duties of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of a Central University governed by the Act.

What Section 12 provides

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor is to be appointed in the manner prescribed by the Statutes. The terms and conditions of service, as well as the powers and duties of the office, are also governed by the Statutes.

Meaning and legal effect of Section 12

Section 12 does not itself prescribe a single detailed appointment procedure, tenure, set of service conditions or exhaustive list of functions for every Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Instead, Parliament has left those operational matters to the Statutes applicable under the Central Universities Act, 2009.

Accordingly, when an issue concerns the appointment, eligibility, tenure, service conditions, authority or functions of a Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Section 12 should be read together with the relevant Statutes governing the particular Central University.

Key points

Appointment

The manner of appointment is determined by the Statutes rather than being exhaustively set out in Section 12 itself.

Terms and conditions of service

The applicable Statutes prescribe the terms and conditions attached to the office of Pro-Vice-Chancellor.

Powers and duties

The powers exercisable and duties performable by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor are likewise those prescribed by the Statutes.

Relationship with other officers under the Act

Section 9 identifies the officers of a University under the statutory framework, while Section 11 deals with the Vice-Chancellor. Section 12 separately provides for the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and the following provisions deal with other university officers including Deans of Schools, the Registrar and the Finance Officer.

Practical note: For a specific university, consult the Central Universities Act, 2009 together with the Statutes applicable to that university. The statutory text is available from the official India Code source linked in the sidebar.

This page is an informational explanation of Section 12 and should be read with the current Act, applicable Statutes and amendments, if any.