Court observes that petition of the State government challenging the appointment of Ciza Thomas as the Vice Chancellor in-charge of technological university is prima facie valid
Court observes that petition of the State government challenging the appointment of Ciza Thomas as the Vice Chancellor in-charge of technological university is prima facie valid
The Kerala High Court has observed that the petition of the State government challenging the appointment of Ciza Thomas, Senior Joint Director, Directorate of Technical Education, as the Vice Chancellor in-charge of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University is prima facie valid.
Justice Devan Ramachandran, who is considering the case, asked all the parties to the litigation, including the Kerala Governor, to file their arguments by November 17. The court will consider the case on November 18.
In its petition, the government contended that a Vice Chancellor of any other university or the Pro Vice Chancellor of the university concerned or the Secretary to the Higher Education department, as recommended by the government, could be appointed as the Vice Chancellor in the event of the post falling vacant.
Ms. Thomas was neither the Vice Chancellor of any other university nor the Pro Vice Chancellor of the university. The Governor unilaterally appointed her as the Vice Chancellor in violation of the statutes and without the recommendation of the State government, which was illegal, the State argued.
The court orally observed that it was concerned about the future of students of the educational institutions even as litigations regarding the appointment of Vice Chancellors were increasing.
Though the Advocate General sought an early hearing of the case, the court maintained that it had listed cases related to other matters concerning universities during the coming days.
