Thiruvananthapuram
The Supreme Court’s damning order rescinding the contentious reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as vice-chancellor of the Kannur University after his tenure ended in 2021 seemed to have come as a stinging legal and political reversal for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
For one, the verdict that slammed the government for “unwarranted interference” with the Chancellor’s prerogative to appoint Vice Chancellors prompted Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to break conventionalities and question the propriety of the continuation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Advocate General in their respective offices.
The judgment also sparked off an increasingly strident Opposition demand, backed by the threat of street protests, for the resignations of Mr. Vijayan and Higher Education Minister R. Bindu.
Dr. Bindu said the government would abide by the Supreme Court order, and Mr. Ravindran stepped down. Mr. Ravindran said he would not appeal the judgment.
Youth Congress workers found Dr. Bindu’s response wanting. Scores of activists marched to the Minister’s official residence in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding that she quit office.
Notably, Mr. Khan absolved Dr. Bindu of any wrongdoing by accusing Mr. Vijayan of pressuring her as Pro Chancellor to write a letter to the Chancellor, urging Raj Bhavan to pass over the panel of 12 candidates for the job of Vice Chancellor and arbitrarily reappoint Mr. Ravindran to the top post at the whim of those at the government’s apex.
Mr. Khan accused Mr. Vijayan of using an “erroneous legal opinion” furnished by the Advocate General to defend Mr. Ravindran’s “illegal nomination”.
Mr. Khan said he acquiesced to the reappointment, plagued by the knowledge that it was norm-bending, violative of University Grants Commission (UGC) rules and a brazen trespass on the Chancellor’s authority.
Raj Bhavan published his dissent note in November 2021. The communique informed the SC’s decision.
LDF convener E. P. Jayarajan said Mr. Khan, who appointed Mr. Ravindran, flip-flopped in the Supreme Court.
He alleged that Mr. Khan wrongly stated that he had come under duress from Mr. Vijayan to “appease” the Sangh Parivar. The LDF demanded Mr. Khan’s resignation for “violating the gubernatorial oath of office”.
Later, DYFI workers staged a protest in front of Raj Bhavan.
KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Bharatiya Janata Party State president K. Surendran said the SC’s verdict had dealt a mortal blow to the government’s alleged attempt to subvert the autonomy of State-funded universities by stacking key posts with CPI(M) loyalists.
