The Supreme Court on Thursday directed a committee led by Justice (retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia to recommend one name for Vice Chancellor (VC) in each of Kerala’s two technical universities. This order aims to resolve a persistent deadlock between the Kerala Chief Minister and the Governor over appointments.
Court’s Directive
A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan tasked the Dhulia committee with submitting the recommended names in a sealed cover. The committee must submit these names by next Wednesday. The Supreme Court will next hear the matter on December 18 .
The court noted that despite its previous efforts, the Chancellor (Governor) and the Chief Minister have failed to reach a consensus on VC appointments. The bench had expected an amicable solution but found only an exchange of letters between the two parties.
Ongoing Deadlock
The dispute concerns appointments for the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had forwarded recommendations, based on an earlier report from the Justice Dhulia panel, to the Governor-cum-Chancellor. No decision followed these recommendations.
Attorney General R Venkataramani informed the court about a letter from the Chancellor to the Chief Minister. The bench, however, declined to review this correspondence. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the Kerala government, stated the law minister and higher education minister met the Chancellor on December 10 . Gupta indicated the Chief Minister objected to only one name among the Chancellor’s considerations.
Previous Interventions
On November 28 , the Supreme Court had criticized the Kerala Governor for not reviewing the initial Dhulia Committee report on VC appointments. The court had then instructed the Governor to make a decision on that report within a week and inform the apex court by December 5 .
The Supreme Court initially intervened to address the impasse on August 18 . It appointed former apex court judge Justice Dhulia to head a panel responsible for shortlisting names for the VC positions. Justice Dhulia had retired from the Supreme Court on August 9 .
Governor’s Plea
On September 2 , the Kerala Governor moved the Supreme Court. He sought to exclude the Chief Minister from the VC selection process. The Governor argued that the university acts for both institutions did not assign any role to the Chief Minister in this selection procedure.
High Court Challenge
The Chancellor had previously challenged a Kerala High Court order. This order set aside the appointment of Professor K Sivaprasad as an interim Vice-Chancellor for APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. The Kerala government had contested this interim appointment. They cited Section 13 (7) of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Act, 2015. This section limits interim appointments to a maximum period of six months.
Next Steps
The Justice Dhulia committee now has until next Wednesday to submit its confidential recommendations. The Supreme Court expects these recommendations to break the current stalemate. The court will reassess the matter during its hearing on December 18 .