Overview

• On July 14, a division bench upheld a May 19 single-judge order that declared the interim appointments of Ciza Thomas and K. Sivaprasad legally unsustainable and dismissed Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s appeal.
• The court ruled that any temporary vice-chancellor posting must follow state-nominated panels and University Grants Commission norms, with a maximum six-month tenure for interim appointments.
• Justices Anil K. Narendran and P. V. Balakrishnan directed the Chancellor and state government to act promptly in selecting permanent vice-chancellors from government-recommended panels.
• Higher Education Minister R. Bindu welcomed the verdict as validation of the state’s position on upholding academic autonomy and statutory procedure.
• With 12 of Kerala’s 13 state universities currently without full-time vice-chancellors, the ruling aims to resolve administrative deadlocks and stabilise governance.