The Kerala High Court has raised concerns over the standoff between the Governor and the state government on the issue of taking control of universities, terming it a "serious concern" and "not in the best interest of higher education". It has been learnt that 12 out of the 13 universities in Kerala are presently operating without normally appointed Vice-Chancellors, observed the Division Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji.
In addition, petitions are being submitted in the High Court at almost every level of the appointment process, including provisional ones, the judges noted. "This will end up diluting the standards of higher education in the state."The HC was observing this while rejecting a petition challenging the Governor's order of appointing Prof Mohanan Kunnummal, Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS), as acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala.
The petition was submitted by Senators Sivaprasad A, an associate professor at Bishop Moore College, Mavelikkara, and Priya Priyadarsanan, an assistant professor at SN College, Cherthala.
Exploring the situation that prompted the Chancellor to make the interim arrangement, the court observed that the university lacked a permanent VC since the senate was not putting forward a member to the three-member search-cum-selection committee to appoint the VC and now the members of the senate are resisting the interim arrangement. "We sincerely hope that appropriate steps are taken without delay to resolve the issues," said the judgement.
Also read: Kerala mandates 30 pc pass marks for Classes 5-9
The University of Kerala has been without a regular VC since Prof VP Mahadevan Pillai’s term ended on October 24, 2022. With the senate failing to nominate its representative to the search and selection panel, Chancellor Arif Mohammed Khan placed Prof Mohanan Kunnummal, KUHS VC, in interim charge of Kerala University. He remains the only regular VC among Kerala’s 13 universities, where the Governor serves as ex-officio chancellor.
Under the Kerala University Act, the search committee includes Governor nominees, UGC nominees, and the University Senate, giving the Union government an effective voice in state university appointments.
This accepted balance shifted after the Bharatiya Janata Party ascended to power, with Governors claiming independence and running into conflict with governments in Opposition-ruled states.
To counter this, the Kerala Assembly passed bills abolishing the Governor as ex-officio Chancellor and reshaping the VC selection board unanimously. But in November 2023, the Governor kept the bills pending with the President, who rejected them in March 2025.
With no assent and pending legal challenges in the Supreme Court, the old setup remains in operation— extending the stalemate and uncertainty in university administration.
Prof Kunnummal's temporary appointment was challenged on three counts: He is more than 60, is not a PhD holder, and the Chancellor went against precedent by not appointing the most senior professor as interim VC.
Also read: Kerala Cong denies Tharoor's claim on Nilambur bypoll campaign
The HC rejected all three. Quoting the SC order in the case of Premachandran Keezhoth vs Chancellor, the court said that the age bar in Section 10(5) of the Kerala University Act is not to be applied to reappointments or interim appointments, as the Act remains mum on both.
On the PhD question, the court observed that Prof Kunnummal, an MD, was made a professor in 2006, prior to the UGC making PhD mandatory for professorship, and was appointed KUHS Vice-Chancellor in 2019. "Nothing is brought before us to prove that the university's institutional interest has been prejudiced by this arrangement," the judgement observed. With regard to seniority, the court said that the Act gives no right to the most senior professor to be interim VC or prohibits the VC of another university from taking interim charge.
Follow us
