The Supreme Court order cancelling the appointment of Rajasree M.S. as Vice Chancellor (VC) of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) has put the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the defensive.
Higher Education Minister R. Bindu vehemently endorsed the decision taken by the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government to appoint Prof. Rajasree as the VC. Pointing out that the appointment had been made by the then Governor P. Sathasivam who was also the former Chief Justice of India, Dr. Bindu said Mr. Sathasivam was a legal luminary who was capable of scrutinising the legal aspects of the process.
Besides, the appointment had been made in accordance with the university Act and all members of the search committee unanimously proposed Prof. Rajasree for the post. There appeared to be no prima facie legal problem in the appointment, she claimed. The Minister added that the Vice Chancellor had performed exceedingly well in the position.
The petitioner, Sreejith P.S., a former dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology, and current Principal of the Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi, said the judgement in his three-year-long legal battle was bound to have wider ramifications, particularly in VC appointments. “While similar violations were evident in other VC appointments, governments will have to stringently adhere to the UGC regulations hereafter,” Prof. Sreejith said.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the apex court verdict had dealt a severe blow to the government.
With the judgement bound to apply for other universities as well, several contentious appointments, including that of the VC of Kannur University, will come under scrutiny.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran, who echoed the views, blamed the Left Democratic Front government for pushing the education sector into disarray.
