Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu has accused Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who serves as the Chancellor of Universities in Kerala, of attempting to “saffronise” the state’s universities. This allegation follows a Kerala High Court decision that invalidated the Governor’s recent nominations to the senate of the University of Kerala, directing him to select new nominees within six weeks.
Minister Bindu welcomed the High Court’s decision, asserting that the nominees selected by the Chancellor lacked notable academic achievements and did not excel in arts, science, sports, or humanities. She claimed these individuals were chosen primarily due to their association with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Bindu argued that the Governor’s interventions have negatively impacted higher education in Kerala. She pointed to various court rulings that, in her view, demonstrated that many of Khan’s actions were inappropriate.
“There have been big attempts at saffronisation of the universities by the Chancellor,” she alleged.
The High Court, while quashing the nominations, said that the Chancellor does not have “unbridled power” in making such decisions according to statutory provisions.
The court highlighted that discretionary power must be exercised with reasonableness, rationality, impartiality, fairness, and equity, rather than based on personal opinions.
The court’s ruling stated, “An unguided, unfettered, and unbridled power is foreign to the exercise of any power, constitutional or statutory. It is trite that even in the exercise of discretionary power, the requirements of reasonableness, rationality, impartiality, fairness, and equity are inherent to such exercise and can never be according to any private opinion. Under such circumstances, the nominations made (by the Chancellor) are to be interfered with and accordingly, they are quashed.”
