‘Unwarranted intervention’ by state: SC revokes reappointment of Kannur University vice chancellor
The bench said that a Kerala Raj Bhavan stated the reappointment was not done at the director of the governor but initiated by the chief minister.
The Supreme Court on Thursday revoked the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as vice chancellor of Kannur University in Kerala, Live Law reported.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing an appeal against the February 2022 judgement of the Kerala High Court upholding the re-appointment of Ravindran as vice chancellor in 2021.
The petition had challenged Raveendran’s reappointment saying that he was past the statutory age limit of 60 years, reported Bar and Bench.
In its verdict, the Supreme Court quashed the notification issued for reappointing Ravindran, citing “unwarranted intervention” of the state government.
The court said it relied on a press release issued by the Kerala Raj Bhavan which stated that reappointment was not done at the direction of the governor, who is the chancellor, but was initiated by the chief minister and the higher education minister.
“It is the chancellor who has been conferred with the competence under the Act to appoint or re-appoint the vice chancellor,” the court said. “No other person, not even the pro-Chancellor or any superior authority, can interfere with the functioning of the statutory authority.”
It said that outside interference in the process would be “patently illegal”.
While the court said that reappointment does not necessarily need to follow the same process as a fresh appointment, it observed that in this case, the chancellor has “abdicated or surrendered” the statutory powers for reappointing the vice chancellor.
“Although the notification for reappointment was issued by the chancellor, yet the decision stood vitiated by the influence of extraneous consideration, or, to put it in other words, by the unwarranted intervention of the state government,” the court pronounced.
After the Supreme Court’s verdict, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of pressuring him to reappoint Ravindran as the vice chancellor, Mathrubhumi reported.
He also said that Education Minister R Bindu should not be blamed as she was used by the chief minister for reappointing Ravindran.
Khan, however, said he would not demand Ravindran’s resignation, adding that it was for the chief minister to decide on further action.