THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, who issued show-cause notices to two more vice-chancellors yesterday despite strong protest by the government and the Left Front, is going ahead with steps to sack 10 VCs.

After issuing show cause notices to the 9 VCs of the state seeking a reason not to fire them by November 3, the Governor also sent notices to Open University VC Dr PM Mubarak Pasha and Digital VC Dr Saji Gopinath yesterday. They should reply by 5 pm on November 4. If not, the notice states that further action will be taken by considering that they did not respond.

The Raj Bhavan has announced that it has dropped the proceedings against Dr VP Mahadevan Pillai, who retired from the post of Kerala VC on Monday.

If the VCs come up with a proper explanation, they will be summoned to the Raj Bhavan for a hearing if necessary. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the governor is likely to fire everyone immediately and issue a notification. The charge of VC will be handed over to senior professors. Subsequently, a search committee will be formed to find new VCs. The Governor took the decision after seeking legal advice from senior lawyers of the Supreme Court. The Raj Bhavan has directed that those who remain in the post of VCs should not take any policy decisions until the Governor completes the process. The High Court order said that the VCs can continue till the Chancellor takes a final decision.