New Delhi: In a big setback to the Kerala government, the Supreme Court Thursday quashed the reappointment of Prof Gopinathan Raveendran as Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said: “We have reached the conclusion that although the notification reappointing the respondent No. 4 to the post of Vice-Chancellor was issued by the Chancellor yet the decision stood vitiated by the influence of extraneous considerations or to put it in other words by the unwarranted intervention of the State Government”.
The bench said it is the governor acting as the chancellor who has been conferred with competence under the Kannur University Act, 1996, to appoint or re-appoint the vice-chancellor. “No other person even the Pro-Chancellor or any superior authority can interfere with the functioning of the statutory authority and if any decision is taken by a statutory authority at the behest or on a suggestion of a person who has no statutory role to play, the same would be patently illegal”, said the bench.
“The rule of law requires that a statutory power vests in the body or authority where the statute so provides, and likewise, the discharge of the statutory duty is the responsibility of the body or authority to which it is entrusted. That body or authority cannot merely rubberstamp an action taken elsewhere or simply endorse or ratify the decision of someone else”, said the bench.
Justice Pardiwala, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said, “Thus, it is the decision-making process, which vitiated the entire process of reappointment of the respondent No. 4 as the Vice-Chancellor. The case on hand is not one of mere irregularity”.
The bench said under the scheme of the Act 1996 and the statutes, the chancellor plays a very important role and is not merely a titular head. “In the selection of the Vice-Chancellor, he is the sole judge and his opinion is final in all respects. In reappointing the Vice-Chancellor, the main consideration to prevail upon the Chancellor is the interest of the university”, added the bench.
The bench said the chancellor was required to discharge his statutory duties in accordance with law and guided by the dictates of his own judgment and not at the behest of anybody else. “Law does not recognise any such extra constitutional interference in the exercise of statutory discretion. Any such interference amounts to dictation from political superior and has been condemned by courts on more than one occasions”, said the bench.
The apex court pointed out on November 1, 2021, notification was issued inviting applications to the post of V-C but all of a sudden, the Minister for Higher Education and Social Justice in his capacity as the Pro-Chancellor addressed a letter to the Chancellor on November 22, 2021 recommending the name of incumbent to another term. The same day, the notification was withdrawn. On the next date, Prof Raveendran was appointed to the post. The apex court quashed the notification dated November 23, 2021, re-appointing Prof Raveendran as Vice Chancellor of the Kannur University.
“We allow this appeal and the impugned judgment and order passed by the high court February 23, 2022, is hereby set aside. As a consequence, notification dated November 23, 2021, re-appointing the respondent no. 4 as vice chancellor of the Kannur University is hereby quashed”, said justice Pardiwala.
The apex court judgment came on an appeal filed by Dr Premchandran Keezhoth elected member of the senate of the university and another person, member of the academic council of the university, challenging the Kerala High Court judgment, which approved the re-appointment of the VC and affirming the December, 2021, single judge bench judgment.
