The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Kerala High Court decision to revoke the appointment of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) Vice-Chancellor K. Riji John.
A Bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud said that Dr. John had already demitted office and could not be reinstated for now.
Listing the case after three weeks, the court said it was up to the Chancellor to “make arrangements for an acting Vice-Chancellor”.
The Bench said any action taken in the interim would “abide” by the final decision of the apex court in Dr. John’s appeal.
“Let us hear the matter first, there will not be any confusion,” CJI Chandrachud tried to quell apprehensions.
The State of Kerala, represented by senior advocate K.K. Venugopal and advocate Nishe Rajen Shonker, urged the court to stay the High Court order, saying Dr. John was a highly qualified person and it was humiliating for him to demit office in the middle of a five-year term.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, for Dr. John, said the agricultural university came under the ambit of the Kerala Fisheries Act, a State legislation, and not the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations. He pointed to Entry 14 of the State List which specifically deals with “agricultural education and research”.
He said Entry 66 of the Central List dealing with “co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions” was only general in nature.
Fisheries, he said, has been held to be part of agricultural activity and studies by Supreme Court judgments.
“Our contention first and foremost is that the Kerala Fisheries Act comes under Entry 14. If so, the UGC Act will have no say in an agricultural university,” Mr. Gupta argued.
Mr. Venugopal, supporting Dr. John, said when there was a specific entry in the State List on “agriculture”, a general entry in the Central List did not apply.
“A big mistake has been made saying that we have to apply the UGC Regulations,” he submitted.
He said only the qualifications for a candidate as prescribed by the UGC need be adopted by the university.
“The entirety of the procedures with regard to appointment of Vice-Chancellor is governed by the Kerala Fisheries Act… To say that the State legislation has no power is wholly erroneous,” Mr. Venugopal contended.
