Chennai/ Bengaluru, May 22 -- The Madras High Court on Wednesday stayed a series of amendments passed by the Tamil Nadu government last month that sought to transfer the power to appoint Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of state-run universities from the Governor to the State government.

A vacation bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayan passed the order amidst high courtroom drama and vehement opposition from the State government.

As the Court began dictating its order granting the stay, the judges' microphone was muted, leaving Senior Counsel P Wilson, who was appearing for the State via videoconferencing, unable to hear the pronouncement. Wilson asked the court staff to unmute the mic and also urged the bench to clarify whether a...