Jolt for ruling LDF as Kerala High Court questions Priya Varghese appointment, deems her ‘unfit’ to hold faculty post

New Delhi: In a setback for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, the Kerala High Court on Thursday told the Kannur University authorities that Priya Varghese, who is the wife of the chief minister’s private secretary K K Ragesh, isn’t experienced enough and unfit to hold the post of associate professor that she had been appointed to. This comes a day after the Kerala High Court initially allowed a petition against the proposed appointment of the Malayalam associate professor that has triggered a political row in the state. The court ordered the varsity to reconsider the appointment of Varghese and said that she does not have the sufficient teaching experience required to hold the post of an associate professor of Malayalam at the university. The high court also directed the government to reconsider the appointment since it was found that Varghese’s appointment was not in tandem with University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.

Big setback for Kerala government, High Court tells Kannur university that Priya Varghese isn't experienced enough @Neethureghu shares more details #KeralaNews #KeralaUniversityRow | @ridhimb pic.twitter.com/FSTYds6j4b

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The court pointed out that teaching experience of a minimum of eight years is needed to apply for the post of associate professor and her teaching experience falls short of the number of years spent teaching. It also sought to know how the Kannur University’s scrutiny committee had overlooked that fact. The Kerala High Court order comes amid a lingering face-off between the Kerala government and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, with the opposition BJP accusing the state government of indulging in severe nepotism and interference in appointments of senior faculty at the state’s universities. Governor Khan had earlier objected to the appointment saying that it reeked of nepotism since she happened to be the wife of the CM’s private secretary. Soon after the court order, Varghese said, “I accept the court’s order. I will discuss the situation with my lawyers.” Reacting to the court order, the Kannur University on Friday claimed that all due procedures outlined by the UGC had been followed in the selection and subsequent appointment of Varghese and indicated that the varsity would not go in for another appeal. Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Ghatopinath Ravindran told news agencies that a legal opinion had earlier been sought before the selection of Priya Varghese to the faculty post. The Kerala High Court’s decision comes as a sharp blow to the ruling LDF since it was unanimously critical of Khan’s decision as Chancellor to put on hold the proposed appointment of Varghese on the ground that it was “politically motivated”. The proposed appointment had led to a huge political confrontation as she had the lowest research score but the highest marks in the interview round and was declared first in the selection process paving the way for her appointment to the varsity’s faculty. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.