Kerala Assembly passes bill to remove Governor from Universities' Chancellor position

The bill was passed after hours of debate, during which the Congress-led UDF said that it was not opposed to the Governor being removed as Chancellor, but he should be chosen from among retired Supreme Court judges and former Kerala High Court chief justices.

The Kerala Assembly passed the University Laws (Amendment) Bill on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, replacing the Governor as Chancellor of the state's universities and appointing eminent academicians to the top post, while the opposition UDF boycotted the House for not accepting its suggestions on the bill. 'The bill has been passed,' said Speaker A N Shamseer.

The bill was passed after hours of debate, during which the Congress-led UDF said that it was not opposed to the Governor being removed as Chancellor, but he should be chosen from among retired Supreme Court judges and former Kerala High Court chief justices.

The opposition also said that there should not be separate Chancellors for each university and that the selection panel should include the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), and the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court.

However, state Law Minister P Rajeeve said that a judge cannot serve on the selection committee and that the Speaker would be a more suitable choice.

The minister also said that being a retired judge cannot be the only option for being appointed at the helm of universities.

In response to the government's stance, the opposition announced the boycott of House proceedings, claiming that the state government was attempting to turn universities in Kerala into Communist or Marxist centres by hotspots by appointing their favourites at the helm.  

The House introduced the bill amid the ongoing tussle between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Pinarayi Vijayan government over various issues, including the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of universities.

(With inputs from PTI)