All VCs reply to Guv Khan’s show-cause notice
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All 10 vice-chancellors who were served show-cause notice by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan have replied to it before the expiry of extended deadline of 5pm on Monday. The governor had asked the VCs to explain why they were still continuing in office despite a Supreme Court verdict holding their appointment ‘void ab-initio’ (legally void from the start).
The VCs reportedly informed the governor that their selection was in order and that they had the legal right to hold the office of the vice-chancellor. It is reliably learnt that of the 10 VCs, five have requested a personal hearing by the chancellor (governor) before further action is taken. Some have requested the presence of their counsel during the hearing.
However, Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran, against whom the governor had launched a tirade, said he would not appear for the personal hearing. The governor had issued the show cause notices last month following a Supreme Court verdict in the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) vice-chancellor appointment case. The apex court held that the selection of a vice-chancellor, that was in violation of UGC regulations, was void ab-initio.
This had prompted the governor to first write to the VCs seeking their resignation and then issue show cause notices to them asking why they were continuing in office despite the Supreme Court verdict. Though the initial deadlines were November 3 for eight VCs and November 4 for two, the High Court extended them till November 7.
The vice-chancellors who were served show cause notices belonged to the universities of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut, Kannur, Fisheries, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala Digital University and Sree Narayana Guru Open University.
KANNUR VARSITY VC TERMS ALLEGATION BASELESS
Kannur: In the reply to the show-cause notice, submitted through an advocate on Monday, Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Raveendran said the allegation that there was a violation of norms regarding his appointment is baseless. “While appointing me as the VC of Kannur University, the government had followed all the proper procedures,” he said.