President declines assent to bill axing Governor's chancellor status

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The President declined assent to the bill passed by the Assembly to remove the Governor from the position of Chancellor of Universities. The University Appellate Tribunal Appointment Amendment Bill, 2021 was also rejected.

These bills will be sent back to the Governor and Raj Bhavan will duly forward the bills to the government explaining in detail the President's action. No further progress is possible in this bill.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna was about to consider petitions filed by Kerala on Tuesday questioning the Governor's action, sending the bills to the President and the President's delay in reaching a decision.

Along with this bill, seven bills passed by the Assembly were sent to the President after the Governor denied signature. The President gave assent only to the Lokayukta amendment while four bills were declined assent.

The University Act Amendment Bills were passed by the Assembly in 2022 to remove the governor from the position of Chancellor and replace him with an academic expert. The then-governor had informed the President that the autonomy of universities would be undermined with the arrival of a government stooge. The former Governor also warned about more government intervention in universities if the bill came to reality.

According to current norms, the University Appellate Tribunal should be a judicial officer not below the rank of a district judge nominated by the Governor in consultation with the High Court. According to the amendment, the government can make the appointment. Former High Court judges and those with a rank lower than that of a district judge can be appointed. The President rejected the bill after accepting the Governor's objection that the appointment of a tribunal excluding the High Court would be an excessive interference in the autonomy of universities.

This is the first time that a state has approached the court against the President's veto of bills passed by the assembly.

According to the state, sending bills, not against the central government in content, to the President, is a breach of norms.