Fight cases against Chancellor legally at your own expense, Kerala Guv tells VCs, university officials

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, as Chancellor of the state's universities, has instructed that Vice Chancellors and other university officers must cover their own legal expenses when litigating against his orders.  

Thiruvananthapuram: As the Chancellor of universities in Kerala, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has directed that Vice Chancellors and other university officers must pursue litigation against his orders at their own personal expense. VCs spent Rs 1.13 crores to conduct cases against the orders passed by the Governor as Chancellor.

In his directive to universities, including Kannur and Calicut, Governor Khan stated that their decision to allocate funds for legal expenses in such cases was "not justifiable" and constituted a "misuse of university funds." He argued that in these cases, university officers were attempting to "safeguard or promote their personal interests."

He instructed the universities to ensure that "no steps shall be taken to cover the legal expenses of university officers for proceedings against the Chancellor or the university."

"If any such payments have already been made the amount shall be recovered forthwith from the concerned officer on whose behalf the payment was made," Khan told the universities.

Governor Khan has also directed the universities to provide details of any decisions made regarding the payment of legal expenses and the current status of any refunds.