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New Delhi: On Thursday, In a major blow to the Kerala state government and a major victory for Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, the Supreme Court canceled the reappointment of Kannur Vice Chancellor Gopinath Raveendran. The Supreme Court said that the reappointment is invalid as it is against UGC rules.
Ravindran’s re-appointment has been in limelight in Kerala as for the first time in the history of the state, a vice chancellor was re-appointed. Ravindran was re-appointed as Vice Chancellor of Kannur University for another four years in 2021.
Official sources said the reappointment of Ravindran at the top of the university will be with effect from November 24. The top court said in its judgement,”The impugned judgement and the order passed by the high court dated February 23, 2022 is hereby set aside and as a consequence, the notification dated November 23, 2021 reappointing the respondent number 4 (Ravindran) as the vice chancellor of the Kannur University is hereby set aside.”
The reappointment of Ravindran came amid protest by Save University Campaign Committee (SUCC) against its decision to shortlist the wife of CPI(M) leader K K Ragesh for a teaching post. Ragesh, a former Rajya Sabha MP, is the private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A division bench of the Kerala High Court had on February 23 last year dismissed an appeal against a single-judge order upholding the re-appointment of Ravindran as the VC of the university, saying it was done in accordance with the law and that he was not “an usurper to the post”.
According to the information, the Governor has sought a report from the Vice Chancellor on the allegations over Ragesh’s wife’s inclusion in the shortlisted candidates. SUCC also protested against the reappointment of Ravindran, claiming that as per norms of the University, a person more than 60 years of age shall not be appointed as Vice Chancellor. The court considered the questions like upper age limit, whether re-appointment is permissible in a tenure post, selection panel, and the chancellor’s power.
