Here comes another spat between the Kerala government and Governor  Arif Mohammed Khan: The state government decided to constitute a search committee for the Vice-Chancellor of the Malayalam University, but Khan, who is the chancellor of the universities, has questioned the legality of the move.

In a letter to the state government, Khan expressed his scepticism over its decision and said it had no authority to constitute the committee. The Chancellor's office clarified that Khan's response came after the Kerala government repeatedly asked him to suggest a nominee to the committee, as per a report by PTI.

The Governor, in his letter, said currently there was no law granting authority to the government to constitute a search committee. Sources informed, the state government has constituted the committee based on the University Act (Amendment) Bill which grants the government the authority to appoint Vice-Chancellors of universities. 

But the Bill is still pending with the Governor who is yet to approve it as law. Last week, however, a few ministers of the state government visited Khan and held discussions over the pending Bills, as per PTI.

The Malayalam University is located in Tirur in the Malappuram district. The term of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor V Anil Kumar expires on February 28. Owing to this, the state government decided to constitute a five-member committee to fill up the vacancy, on the basis of the impugned Bill. The committee included nominees of the University Syndicate and the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC).