Giving a new twist to the ongoing tussle between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the CPI(M)-led government, Kerala High Court Monday revoked the appointment of Dr K Riji John as the vice-chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS). Dr John was one of the 10 VCs whom the Governor asked to step down in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict. The division bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar acted upon a petition moved by one K K Vijayan and others, challenging the appointment of Dr John as the VC for five years in January 2021. Vijayan had moved the high court alleging that Dr John’s appointment violated University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. The high court on Monday ordered the formation of a search-cum-selection committee as per the UGC norms. The Governor, as the KUFOS chancellor, is the first respondent in the petition. This verdict gains significance against the backdrop of the Governor’s move to terminate 10 VCs of various universities in Kerala in the wake of the October 21 Supreme Court verdict which declared the appointment of Dr M S Rajasree as the VC of A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University as illegal and void ab initio. The Supreme Court pointed out that Dr Rajasree’s appointment was against UGC norms. Armed with the verdict, the Governor initially asked all other 10 VCs in Kerala to step down immediately. Later, he served a show-cause notice to all the VCs, including Dr John, to explain why they should not be terminated. Last week, the high court gave interim relief to the VCs after directing the Governor to file an affidavit on the issue. In December 2021, on the petition challenging the appointment of the KUFOS VC, the Governor furnished an affidavit saying that the appointment conformed with the statutory provision stipulating that the VC shall be appointed by the Chancellor on the advice of the selection committee. The selection committee was chaired by Kerala State Planning Board vice-chairman V K Ramachandran, who was the government’s nominee. It also included former pro-vice-chancellor of Kerala University J Prabhash and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) deputy director general (fisheries science) J K Jena as the nominees of the KUFOS governing council and the ICAR director general, respectively. The panel shortlisted nine candidates and unanimously recommended Dr John for the post.
