Kerala Governor flags judicial overreach in university V-C selection

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Sunday (December 14, 2025) openly criticised the Supreme Court over its intervention in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) in Digital University Kerala (DUK) and APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU).

The Governor deplored the tendency of one institution usurping the role of another in a democracy. He said the power to amend the Constitution is vested with the Parliament and elected legislature, and the courts are there to ‘interpret the Constitution and not to amend the Constitution.’

Award given

Mr. Arlekar was speaking while conferring the Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Award 2025, instituted by The Law Trust, to former Chief Justice of India and former Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam at a ceremony held in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Referring to the ongoing dispute over V-C appointments, the Governor asserted that the authority to appoint the V-Cs rests with the Chancellor as laid down in the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations. The norm was also upheld in the Supreme Court’s verdict quashing the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as the V-C of Kannur University.

However, the apex court was now overlooking such provisions, a trend which he described as incorrect.

“Kannur University verdict honours the right of the Chancellor to select the V-Cs. But after some time, the very same provisions are being ignored by the Supreme Court and its judges,” he remarked.

The Governor questioned the apex court’s decision to appoint search committees for selecting the V-Cs for DUK and KTU. “Search committees should be appointed by the Chancellor. In the Kannur University judgment, they (the court) accepted this fact. But, later on, the judges say “no, the search committee will be appointed by us. You have to follow this (the court’s decision)”,” Mr. Arlekar said.

According to the Governor, such actions amount to judicial overreach. “Taking (away) the tasks of every institution and doing them themselves (by the courts) is not correct,” he said, while reiterating that the courts should only ensure that the law is followed and that each institution must function within its own domain.

The Governor’s remarks come in the wake of the Supreme Court’s intervention in the ongoing V-C dispute in Kerala. Adopting a firm stand in the issue, the apex court recently came down heavily on the failure of the Governor and the State government in arriving at a consensus in appointing the V-Cs. The court also directed the committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia to recommend names for the posts.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sathasivam said that courts have to remain committed to Justice Krishna Iyer’s humanist ideals even when society is turning increasingly ‘digital’. Kerala High Court judges N. Nagaresh, K. Babu and A. Badarudeen were present on the occasion.