5 months ago
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Unable to defuse the “deadlock” betwixt Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan implicit Vice-Chancellor appointments to 2 State-run universities, the Supreme Court connected Thursday (December 11, 2025) tapped its committee led by a erstwhile apical tribunal justice to instrumentality to the drafting committee and urge the champion persons for the occupation successful their “order of preference”.
“Despite our champion efforts, the deadlock continues till this date. The Chancellor (Governor Arlekar) and the Chief Minister person not been capable to scope immoderate statement arsenic regards the assignment of immoderate peculiar persons arsenic Vice-Chancellors (VC) successful the 2 universities,” a Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan observed.
The tribunal noted that overmuch had happened since it had asked the Governor and the Chief Minister to scope a statement connected the prime of candidates worthy of assignment arsenic Vice-Chancellors to the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.
The Chief Minister and the Governor were astatine loggerheads with 1 of the names recommended by the committee headed by erstwhile Supreme Court judge, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia. While the Governor recovered nary responsibility successful the assignment of Ciza Thomas arsenic V-C, the Chief Minister raised objections.
“The Law Minister and Higher Education Minister had some met the Governor yesterday oregon the time before. They had conveyed that determination was nary occupation but for this 1 name,” elder advocator Jaideep Gupta and advocator C.K. Sasi, submitted.
Attorney-General’s view
Attorney-General R. Venkataramani said the Chief Minister had not forwarded immoderate worldly astir the shortlisted candidates to him. As a result, helium had blindly gone by the recommendations made by the Justice Dhulia committee. Mr. Venkataramani submitted that the Governor had surmised that since Ms. Thomas’s sanction figured successful the sheet of candidates shortlisted for some universities, she would beryllium a meritorious choice.
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However, Mr. Gupta said “the person, portion temporarily the Vice-Chancellor, had wholly disrupted the enactment of the university”.
Finding the deficiency of statement betwixt the 2 Constitutional authorities of the State “unfortunate”, the tribunal requested the Justice Dhulia committee to spell done the letters of the Chief Minister and Chancellor’s reply and taxable a report.
The tribunal tasked the committee to provide, successful a sealed cover, names for V-C appointments to each assemblage successful the bid of preference. It listed the lawsuit for proceeding adjacent connected December 18.
