A petition that questioned the reappointment of the Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University, Gopinath Ravindran, was accepted by a division bench of Kerala High Court on December 17. Since Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan is the Chancellor of the university, the court directed that notices need to be sent to him. There was no requirement to send notices to Ravindran because his counsel can put forth his arguments when the case is heard on January 13, as per a report in IANS.
Curiously, it was on December 15 that a single bench of the court had dismissed a plea filed by Kannur University senate members K Premachandran and Shino Jose. The plea was similar in nature. When this plea was dismissed, it seemed like it was a relief for the government which was besieged from several quarters, including the Kerala Governor himself. Khan had signed the reappointment order and then backtracked, stating that his "hands were tied and now he regrets the decision". It may be recalled that he even publicly stated that he no longer wished to continue as the Chancellor.
The Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were demanding that R Binhu, the State Higher Education Minister, submit her resignation after two of her letters to the Kerala Governor that sought reappointment of Ravindran as Vice-Chancellor came to light.
