S. Bijoy Nandan, Professor, Department of Marine Biology, Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat), will take charge as the new Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Kannur University.
Kerala Governor and Chancellor Arif Mohammed Khan’s decision comes after the Supreme Court’s cancellation of Gopinath Ravindran’s reappointment as Kannur University VC.
According to university officials, Prof. Nandan will take charge after reaching Kannur by Friday (December 1) afternoon.
Prof. Nandan, who is a Senior Professor in the Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Member Syndicate and Senate CUSAT, has 29 years of academic administration, research and teaching experience.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ravindran, who was removed from the post of Kannur University V-C, was set to return to New Delhi on Friday.
A Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, in a judgment on November 30, set aside a decision of the Kerala High Court which had upheld the validity of a November 23, 2021 notification reappointing Mr. Ravindran.
The apex court said that though the November 2021 notification was issued in the Chancellor’s name, the decision stood vitiated by “unwarranted interference.” Chief Justice Chandrachud, leading the Bench, questioned the Kerala Government’s intervention and emphasised the Chancellor’s prerogative in V-C appointments.
Kannur University Senate Member Premachandran Keezhoth and Academic Council Member Shino P. Jose had initiated the legal challenge against Mr. Ravindran’s reappointment.
The court’s scrutiny focussed on the age factor, questioning how individuals over 60 could be reappointed as V-Cs.
