New Delhi, May 21 -- The Madras High Court on Wednesday evening granted an interim stay on a contentious provision that empowers the Tamil Nadu government to appoint vice-chancellors to state-run universities, halting the state's recent legislative amendments that transferred this authority from the Governor to the Chief Minister.

A Division Bench comprising Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshmi Narayanan passed the stay order despite strong opposition from the Tamil Nadu government, which urged the court to adjourn the matter until Friday. The government argued that the case was being taken up prematurely, especially since a related petition is pending before the Supreme Court. However, the court proceeded with the hearing and issued th...