Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has said the members nominated to the board of management of the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar, will have a fixed tenure of three years and cannot be removed at the pleasure of the nominating authority.

Justice A.S. Bopanna made these observations while directing the State government to allow two nominated members to complete their term before giving effect to the notification issued by it nominating five others.

Allowing the petitions filed by Mallikarjun Biradar and Nagabusan Kamthane, who were nominated to the board for a period of three years with effect from July 5, 2014, the High Court passed the order.

The High Court dismissed the petitions by K.C. Shankare Gowda, Rithesh Aliayan, K.S. Ashok Kumar and Shrikant Konapur, who were nominated to the board by the government in January 2016 but had later kept the said notification in abeyance. They were now seeking revival of the notification of their nomination.

Though the power to make a nomination to the board from different categories under Section 27 of the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Science University Act was amended in 2015 by transferring the power from the Chancellor to the government, the court said this change of power is prospective in nature and thus, the government cannot remove existing nominees.

The HC also said Section 27(7) of the Act has a provision for removal of nominated members only under specific reasons such as misbehaviour, misconduct, and after official inquiry.