Prez returns Bill to make Punjab CM chancellor of state universities

A Punjab bill that seeks to replace the state governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of state-run universities has been returned by the President without giving her assent, official sources said on Wednesday.

Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and three others bills were passed by the Punjab Assembly in the two-day session in June last year but the governor had called the session "patently illegal."

Later in November last year, the Supreme Court held that the June 19-20 session was constitutionally valid and had directed the Punjab governor to decide on the Bills passed by the legislative assembly session.

The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was for replacing the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of state-run universities.

However, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit reserved this bill along with two others -- the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 -- for the consideration of th