Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan terms illegal the Senate action in challenging lawful action of Chancellor
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan terms illegal the Senate action in challenging lawful action of Chancellor
Justifying his action in withdrawing 15 nominated members from the Senate of the University of Kerala, Governor and Chancellor of the university Arif Mohammed Khan has said it is illegal on the part of the Senate to challenge the lawful action of the Chancellor in constituting a selection committee in good faith and in public interest to ensure the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor without delay.
In an affidavit filed before the Kerala High Court through his senior counsel Jaju Babu, Mr. Khan pointed out that the action of the Senate, chaired by the then Vice Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai, requesting the Chancellor to withdraw the notification constituting a selection committee was “not in consonance with the provisions of the Kerala University Act, but must be called a marked affront”.
He added that the notification constituting the selection committee with the UGC’s nominees was issued on August 5, as the university failed to furnish a senate nominee to the selection committee and in view of the fact that the post of Vice Chancellor would fall vacant on October 24.
In fact, as per Section 10(1) of the Act, the sole responsibility of the Senate was to furnish its nominees to the selection committee. However, the Senate chose to challenge the authority of the Chancellor in constituting the selection committee. The action of the Senate was clearly against the Act and statutes. The Chancellor’s executive power could not be pre-empted by the Senate. Sections 10(1) and 19(1) of the Act did not empower the Senate to intervene or stall the implementation of the notification issued on August 5.
The Chancellor also pointed out that the nominees of the Chancellor becoming parties to the unanimous decision of the Senate to request for withdrawing the selection committee notification was unlawful and the nominees “have gone out of bounds of their jurisdiction to exercise the authority and power which is not vested on them”. The Chancellor’s action was to avoid all possible delays in appointing a new Vice-Chancellor to the university.
The affidavit was filed in response to a petition by K.S. Chandrasekhar and other Senate members challenging the Chancellor’s action.
