Overview

• The Supreme Court appointed retired Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia to chair search-cum-selection committee(s) for APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.
• The court set a timetable: committees to be constituted within two weeks, applications to be invited with four weeks for candidates to apply, initial scrutiny in one week, and final shortlisting within the following month.
• Committee composition will draw two nominees each from the Governor as Chancellor and the state government, with Justice Dhulia exercising discretion over the final makeup and preparing an alphabetical panel of at least three names.
• To enable the process, the court ordered facilities for Justice Dhulia including an honorarium of ₹3 lakh per sitting, office space, secretarial support, transit accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram, and an official vehicle.
• As the Supreme Court-led process moves forward, the Kerala High Court declined relief sought by incumbent KTU Vice-Chancellor K. Sivaprasad, while broader questions on chancellor powers and UGC conformity remain pending.