Section 47 of the Central Universities Act, 2009: Repeal and Savings
Section 47 is the repeal-and-savings provision of the Central Universities Act, 2009 (Act No. 25 of 2009). It repealed the Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 while preserving specified acts, appointments, orders, academic awards and selection proceedings undertaken under the Ordinance.
Updated: 15 September 2026
What Section 47 provides
Sub-section (1) expressly repeals the Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 (Ordinance 3 of 2009). Sub-section (2) then creates continuity by deeming things done and actions taken under that Ordinance to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of the Central Universities Act, 2009.
Section 47 - Repeal and savings
(1) The Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 (Ord. 3 of 2009) is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act, and-
(a) all appointments made, orders issued, degrees and other academic distinctions conferred, diplomas and certificates awarded, privileges granted, or other things done under the Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 (Ord. 3 of 2009), shall be deemed to have been respectively made, issued, conferred, awarded, granted or done under the corresponding provisions of this Act and, except as otherwise provided by, or under this Act or the Statutes, continue in force unless and until they are superseded by any order made under this Act or the Statutes; and
(b) all proceedings of Selection Committees for the appointment or promotion of teachers that took place before the commencement of this Act and all actions of the Executive Council in respect of the recommendations of such Selection Committees where no orders of appointment on the basis thereof were passed before the commencement of this Act shall, notwithstanding that the procedure for selection has been modified by this Act, be deemed to have been valid but further proceeding in connection with such pending selections shall be taken in accordance with the provisions of this Act and be continued from the stage where they stood immediately before such commencement, except if the concerned authorities take, with the approval of the Visitor, decision to the contrary.
Effect of the savings clause
The provision prevents a legal vacuum when the 2009 Ordinance was replaced by the Act. Appointments, orders, degrees, diplomas, certificates, privileges and other protected acts under the Ordinance are treated as acts under the corresponding provisions of the Act and ordinarily continue until superseded in accordance with the Act or the Statutes.
Pending teacher selection proceedings
Section 47(2)(b) specifically validates qualifying Selection Committee proceedings and related Executive Council action that occurred before commencement of the Act even though the Act modified the selection procedure. Further steps in a pending selection are ordinarily governed by the Act and continue from the stage already reached, subject to the statutory exception involving a contrary decision by the competent authorities with the Visitor's approval.
Why Section 47 remains relevant
Section 47 is primarily transitional. Its continuing significance arises when the legal validity or continuity of an appointment, order, academic distinction, privilege, or qualifying teacher-selection process originating under the Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 has to be determined after enactment of the Central Universities Act, 2009.
Official legal source
For authoritative and updated statutory text, consult the Central Universities Act, 2009 on India Code. The Act has subsequently been amended, including by Central Universities (Amendment) Acts, but the current India Code text continues to set out Section 47 as the repeal-and-savings provision.