KOCHI: Senior advocate K Jaju Babu, legal advisor to the governor of Kerala, has resigned from the post. He submitted his resignation to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday.
Senior advocate and former Bar Council chairman S Gopakumaran Nair has been appointed the legal counsel to the governor. Nair is a PhD holder in law in the subject “Judicial Control of Academic Decisions”, relating to the scope of interference of High Courts and the Supreme Court in the academic decisions of the universities and other academic bodies.
Jaju’s resignation comes at a time when the tussle between the governor and the state government has reached the Kerala High Court, where petitions related to the appointment of VCs and withdrawal of the nominations of 15 members of the senate of Kerala University are under consideration.
Jaju Babu was appointed legal advisor to the Governor of Kerala on February 6, 2009. In the letter, he said: “For reasons known to you also, the moment has come for me to vacate my position.” However, sources said Jaju stepped down after the governor appointed a new legal counsel. Jaju’s wife M U Vijayalakshmi, who is the standing counsel of the chancellor of the universities in Kerala, has also resigned.