Shimla, Aug. 27 -- The Himachal Pradesh High Court has declared the Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the Rules framed under it in 2026 unconstitutional and void ab initio, holding that provisions governing the appointment of Vice-Chancellors directly conflict with the mandatory University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2018.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the judgement on a batch of writ petitions filed by Narender Kumar Sankhyan and Sanjeev Kumar Chauhan challenging the amended selection process for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors at Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSKHPKV),...