I succumbed to my stand on AG's opinion in reappointing VC: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan

Khan alleged that the state government mounted pressure for hiring Gopinath Ravindran as the VC of Kannur University, despite refusal from the Supreme Court

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday said he was open to advice from the state government, "but not pressure from them".

Khan's statement assumes significance as he has admitted that he succumbed to the pressure from the state government with regard to the re-appointment of Gopinath Ravindran as vice-chancellor (VC) of Kannur University, a decision that has been quashed by the Supreme Court.

The Governor, speaking to reporters here, said he succumbed to the government pressure only because there was a legal opinion from the Advocate General (AG), the highest law officer in the state, in favour of the re-appointment.

"I have said before the whole of the media that what I did was wrong. But I succumbed to that pressure only because there was a legal opinion from the AG. Otherwise, the political pressure I would have resisted. If I have some confusion about the legality of something, to whom would I go? The AG. He is the highest legal officer in the state," Khan explained.

He claimed that while agreeing to the re-appointment he had said that the AG's opinion was illegal, and he wrote the same on the file.

On being enquired about the status of the vacant V-C positions in several universities in the state, Khan said that he as Chancellor has set the process in motion for filling those posts as soon as the apex court judgement came.

He, however, said that the positions were vacant for so long, in some cases almost a year, because of the state government.

Khan said that according to media reports, the state government had asked university syndicates not to send their nominee for the search and selection committees and to wait for his tenure as Governor to end.

"With the arrival of the SC verdict, the appointment process was set in motion, it will take some time," he said.

Answering a question on whether he would seek the government's advice with regard to the appointments, Khan said, "I am open to advice from them, but I am not open to pressure from them."

The Supreme Court, while quashing Ravindran's reappointment, had berated the Left government for its "unwarranted intervention" in the matter.

The apex court had found fault with Khan's order reappointing Ravindran to the post, saying the Governor had earlier "abdicated or surrendered" the statutory powers for reappointing the VC.

It also said it is the Chancellor who is conferred with competence under law to appoint or reappoint VCs. "No other person, even the pro-chancellor or any superior authority can interfere with the functioning of the statutory authority," the top court had held.

Following the verdict, Khan had said that state higher education minister R Bindu was not to be blamed as the Chief Minister (CM) had used her for seeking the reappointment of Ravindran.

He had accused CM Pinarayi Vijayan of having exerted pressure on him in the matter.