Final orders shouldn't be issued until a decision is taken by the Court: Kerala HC on VCs case
Nov 08, 2022
Kochi (Kerala) [India], November 8 : The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued an interim order that the final orders of the chancellor should not be issued until a decision is taken by the court in the writ petitions filed by the vice-chancellors, challenging the show cause notice issued by him.
The state governor is also the chancellor of universities.
This interim order came when the Court was considering the writ petitions filed by seven vice-chancellors against the show cause notice issued by the chancellor. They sought to cancel the notice and contended that it is illegal.
Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran also observed that, "If you want to continue as vice-chancellor, you will have to follow the instructions of the chancellor. Both chancellor and vice-chancellors should not try to throw mud at each other."
Earlier, the High Court extended time until today at 5 pm to file an objection by the vice-chancellors to the show cause notice.
State Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on October 24 had served show cause notices to vice-chancellors (VCs) of nine universities and asked them to explain why their appointment should not be declared illegal. The Governor alleged the violation of University Grants Commission (UGC) norms in the appointment process.
Khan had sought the resignation of VCs of the University of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi University, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kannur University, APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, University of Calicut and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.
Notably, the HC had declared that the VCs can continue in their posts until removed by the Governor after getting their explanations for the show cause notice.
On Wednesday, seven vice-chancellors approached the High Court against the show cause notice issued by the Kerala Governor. They sought to cancel the notice and contended that it is illegal. In the plea, the VCs are demanding the cancellation of the show cause notice.
