'We Will Appoint VCs If CM & Governor Can't Reach Consensus' : Supreme Court In Kerala Universities' Matter

The Supreme Court today(December 5) said that if the Kerala Government and the Kerala Governor cannot reach a consensus regarding the appointment of the Vice Chancellors of two State Universities, then the Court will make the appointment.A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice PB Varale was hearing the matter related to the appointments of VCs of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, and the University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology.As soon as the matter was taken, Justice Pardiwala said that the matter would be heard on Monday. "Hope there are some developments," Justice Pardiwala observed.Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, for the State, submitted that the Chancellor (Governor) has filed an affidavit explaining the decision taken by him.Attorney General for India R Venkataramani submitted that the Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia committee had recommended two sets of names and the Chancellor picked up two names. "I believe the Chief Minister has some difficulty with these names," AG said."The very name the Chief Minister said is not acceptable is the only name acceptable to the Chancellor. I think it is heading for a resolution by this Court," Gupta replied.Justice Pardiwala noted that the Justice Dhulia committee had recommended four names for each University. "By Tuesday, if you all can work it out, well and good. Otherwise, we will appoint," Justice Pardiwala said."I have no difficulty. If the Chancellor finds two names figure in both the lists, then they are the best candidates to be recommended," AG said."You all have to reach some consensus. If you are unable to reach some consensus, then the intervention of the Court is the only option," Justice Pardiwala said. "We will try to avoid that as far as possible," AG replied.The bench posted the matter to next Thursday.The Chancellor has preferred the appointment of Dr.Ciza Thomas and Dr. Priya Chandran as Vice Chancellors of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology in the State, respectively. It has also been reported that the State Government has objected to the name of Dr. Thomas.This comes after the Supreme Court last Friday criticised the Governor for delaying action on the report submitted by the Justice(retired) Sudhanshu Dhulia regarding the appointments of Vice Chancellors. The Court remarked that the Governor was expected to make a decision soon on the recommendations of the Justice Dhulia committee.It may be recalled that the Court had, in August, constituted a search committee headed by Justice Dhulia to shortlist names for VC appointments in view of the stalemate between the State Government and the Chancellor (Governor). The Court had also directed the Chancellor to make the appointments in the same order of preference as recommended by the Chief Minister.The Court's order was passed in a Special Leave Petition filed by the Governor, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the Technological University, challenging the Kerala High Court's judgment, which quashed the Chancellor's appointment of a temporary Vice Chancellor of the University without the State Government's recommendation.On July 30, the Court had urged the Chancellor and the Government to resolve the issue amicably to ensure the appointments of regular VCs. The Court had also clarified that until regular VC appointments are completed, it would be open for the Kerala Governor to re-appoint the present temporary VCs.Later, the Chancellor re-appointed Ciza Thomas & K Sivaprasad as interim VCs of Digital & Technological Universities, which the State Government challenged by filing an application.BackgroundThe High Court held in the impugned order that the Governor (Chancellor) can appoint a temporary VC only with the recommendation of the State Government for a period not exceeding six months.In November 2024, the Chancellor appointed Dr. K. Sivaprasad and Dr. Ciza Thomas as temporary Vice Chancellors of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) and Kerala University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology, respectively. These appointments were quashed by a single bench of the High Court on May 19. On July 14, a division bench of the High Court upheld the single bench's decision.The High Court noted that as per Section 13(7) of the Technological University Act, where the vacancy of Vice-Chancellor arises in any of the circumstances enumerated in clauses (i) to (v), the Chancellor may appoint the Vice-Chancellor of any other University or the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Technological University or the Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department, recommended by the Government, to be the Vice Chancellor for a period of not exceeding six months in the aggregate.Case Details: THE CHANCELLOR, APJ ABDUL KALAM TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY v. STATE OF KERALA AND ORS| SLP(C) No. 20680-20681/2025

'We Will Appoint VCs If CM & Governor Can't Reach Consensus' : Supreme Court In Kerala Universities' Matter

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

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