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CMO pressured me to appoint Kannur university V-C: Kerala Guv
Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said he was pressured by the office of the chief minister to appoint Gopinathan Ravindran as the vice-chancellor of Kannur University in November, 2021
Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said he was pressured by the office of the chief minister to appoint Gopinathan Ravindran as the vice-chancellor of Kannur University in November, 2021. The governor’s statement came hours after the Supreme Court quashed Ravindran’s re-appointment to the post.
The top court bench of Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ruled that even though the notification for reappointment of the V-C was issued by the chancellor, “the decision stood vitiated by the unwarranted intervention of the state government.”0
The court also criticised the governor stating that the “chancellor abdicated or surrendered the statutory power of reappointment, rendering the entire decision making process bad.”
Regarding the V-C’s re-appointment, governor Khan told reporters, “Honourable chief minister came to my office and said that Kannur is his home district. I said, “Let the process be completed. Once the panel comes, I will consult with you and I will take your views into consideration while appointing the V-C.” The process had already begun by then around 10-12 applications had been received. Three days later, the legal advisor to CM and his OSD came to me and said, “You have already promised to accommodate the wishes of the CM, then why go through the process?” I said, “Because the law demands so.”
The governor said that the legal advisor to CM and the OSD later produced the opinion of the advocate general that the process to select the V-C could be scuttled and Ravindran be re-appointed as the V-C.
“I told them, “what you are asking me to do is illegal, irregular and not in line with law. But since you have come with the opinion of the advocate general, I will accept it.” The next day, I wrote to the CM saying that what he made me do was illegal and that he will bring such pressure on me in other matters also. Therefore, I requested him to make some alternate arrangements and that I don’t want to continue as chancellor,” the governor added.
“The higher education minister used to write to me but all the pressure came from the office of the CM,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, higher education minister R Bindu said that she accepts the SC verdict in the matter. “The state government had sent a proposal in this regard based on the legal opinion of the AG. The responsibility of making the appointment rests with the governor. He has to use his wisdom and discretion to make a decision. It will be better to make an informed statement after getting the full copy of the verdict,” she told reporters.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan demanded the resignation of the higher education minister.
“A person who had crossed the age limit was reappointed (to the post of V-C). The SC has made it clear that the state government made unwarranted intervention in this matter. As the pro-chancellor, the higher education minister has violated the norms of the UGC. We had alleged then itself that the governor succumbed to the pressures of the state government and the top court has said the same. It is a strong warning to the state government and the minister must resign,” Satheesan said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister V Muraleedharan said the SC verdict proves the nepotism and corruption of the CM. “The CPM must think whether it wants to carry forward a corrupt CM. The people of Kerala certainly don’t want one,” he said.
