THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vice-chancellor of MG, Sabu Thomas reasserted that his appointment stands valid and conforms to the standards set out by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Mr. Thomas presented himself and cleared his part during a hearing arranged by Governor in Raj Bhavan. Failure to follow the search committee set guidelines were not his fault, Thomas ascertained.

Advocate Sunil Kumar who represented Kannur VC Gopinath Raveendran requested one-week time to acquire more legal documents to fortify the VC appointment case. Accepting his request, the Governor finalized the next hearing for January 11 but it didn't stop the septuagenarian from his usual scathing repartee as he said it was nothing but delaying tactics at play by the VCs concerned. He also added that it was not under the bounds of raj bhavan but the government to assist the VCs with appropriate legal documents.