'Why are you creating deadlock?' Supreme Court lashes out at Governor over VC appointment

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has strongly criticised Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar while hearing a petition filed by the state government seeking to cancel the reappointment of interim Vice-Chancellors at the Digital University and the Technological University. The apex court asked why the Governor was creating a deadlock and pointed out that the government could form a five-member search committee to appoint permanent VCs.

However, the Attorney General informed the court that the search committee could only be formed in accordance with UGC rules. The court then asked why there was a dispute over the committee’s formation. Justice Pardiwala warned that if the dispute was not resolved, the court itself would appoint a five-member committee. It was suggested that both the Governor and the state government should submit four names each, after which the court would form the search committee. The case will be heard again tomorrow.

In its petition, the Kerala government argued that the Governor had appointed interim VCs unilaterally and in violation of rules, and that his orders should be revoked. The state told the court that the Governor was not cooperating, though it had tried to resolve the matter. However, the Attorney General claimed that there was no such effort from the state's side. The government maintained that the Governor's current order was illegal.

Earlier, the Governor had approached the Supreme Court against a High Court order that removed the VCs of the Kerala Technological University and the Digital University. At that time, the Supreme Court had strictly directed that steps be taken immediately to appoint permanent VCs to both universities.