SC Welcomes Resolution Of Kerala VC Appointment Deadlock
The court recalled that it had appointed Justice Dhulia and entrusted him with the task of recommending names for the two posts. \
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the resolution of the impasse between the Kerala Governor and the State government regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University and Kerala University of Digital Sciences. The court was informed that the two constitutional authorities had agreed on names to fill the posts.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Governor, told a two-judge Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan that the dispute had been resolved and that the decision had been communicated to the committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia.
Describing it as a “happy ending to the saga”, the apex court observed that universities cannot function without Vice-Chancellors, given their crucial role in administration and governance.
The court noted that following its earlier order, there had been positive developments. It observed that the prolonged deadlock had left two major universities without permanent Vice-Chancellors, solely due to the lack of consensus between the Governor and the State government. The Bench said the court’s intervention was prompted by concern over the impact on academic institutions.
The court recalled that it had appointed Justice Dhulia and entrusted him with the task of recommending names for the two posts. It welcomed the joint submission by the Governor and the government that the appointments had now been made, and placed its appreciation on record for Justice Dhulia’s role.
In its order, the apex court said its endeavour throughout had been to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders. It also appreciated the authorities for acting in aid of the court, and acknowledged the efforts of the Attorney General, senior advocate Jaideep Gupta and others in bringing the matter to a close.
The court recalled that on December 11 it had directed a committee headed by Justice Dhulia to recommend names for the Vice-Chancellor posts after noting the continued deadlock between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor-cum-Chancellor Rajendra Arlekar. Earlier, the court had warned that it would step in if no consensus was reached.
On November 28, the apex court had taken serious exception to the Dhulia Committee report not being considered, remarking that it was not “just an ordinary piece of paper”. The dispute dates back to August, when the court appointed Justice Dhulia to head a panel to shortlist names, following repeated failure by the State government and the Governor to agree on a mechanism to resolve the issue.