PATNA, Feb. 16 -- With three state universities again slipping under ad hoc arrangement following the end of the term of regular vice chancellors, the process of fresh appointments is set to begin. A senior official of Lok Bhawan said the search committee would have a nominee from the UGC in keeping with the UGC provisions and Supreme Court order on VC appointment. "The vacancies have been advertised and search committees for each of three universities formed," he added. Both the Patna University (Amendment) Act, 2013, and the Bihar State Universities Act, 2013 prescribe a three-member search committee comprising an eminent scholar/academician nominated by the chancellor as chairman, the director or head of a national-level institute, or a VC of a statutory university nominated by the chancellor; and an eminent academician nominated by the state govt. "These Acts do not provide for any UGC nominee, though during the tenure of former Governor Rajendra Arlekar a UGC nominee was included in the search committee and it will be continued," said the official. The Supreme Court in January 2026 ruled that the UGC Regulations-2018 on constitution of search-cum-selection committee for appointing VCs "overrides" any state law made in this regard as it mandates that the panel for recommending names for appointing VCs should include a nominee of the UGC chairman. "Any decision inconsistent with UGC regulations for appointing VC shall be legally untenable," said Futab Working President Kanhaiya Bahadur Sinha and general secretary, Sanjay Kumar Singh, MLC. Detailing the background of the case, they said the appointment of VC of Pudducherry Technical University was challenged in Madras HC on the ground that the search committee did not have a UGC nominee as member as required under UGC regulation 2018. In August, 2024 also, Raj Bhawan had handed over additional charge of three state universities till the appointment of regular VCs. The appointments of four VCs was completed in January 2025 barely days after Arif Mohammad Khan took over as Bihar Governor on January 2. The same happened in Pataliputra University, where the VC was appointed in July 2025 after remaining under ad hoc charge since January even though the chancellor's secretariat had invited applications for the post in June 2024 itself. Patna University is also under an officiating VC as the incumbent VC is facing charges and the chancellor has stopped him from functioning till the completion of the probe. However, this will be the first time during the tenure of Khan that the entire process for appointment of VCs will be carried out. The process for previous appointments during his tenure were started during the term of his predecessor. In Magadh University (Bodh Gaya) and Veer Kunwar Singh University (Ara), the regular VCs have been given extension....