No Consensus on Kerala Vice Chancellors: Supreme Court Orders Dhulia Committee to Pick Final Names
SC reviewed Kerala’s ongoing dispute between the Governor and the Chief Minister over Vice Chancellor appointments and ordered the Dhulia Committee to submit final recommendations
In the continuing tussle between the Kerala Governor and the State Government over the appointment of regular Vice Chancellors to two universities, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Justice Dhulia–led committee to re-examine the issue and submit a composite recommendation.
The Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan observed that despite repeated directions, the Governor, who is also the Chancellor, and the Chief Minister have failed to reach a consensus on selecting a Vice Chancellor for the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Governor, attempted to hand over a sealed envelope containing the Chancellor’s reply to the Chief Minister’s letter. The Court declined to open it.
“We are not getting into all this,” Justice Pardiwala said, noting that the committee had already shortlisted candidates and that one woman candidate was found meritorious for both universities.
Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the State, submitted that the Chief Minister had expressed reservations only about one candidate, whom he considered unsuitable based on past experience as Vice Chancellor. The AG maintained that the Chancellor supported her candidature, as she also headed multiple government committees.
The Bench recorded that the committee constituted by the Court and headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had completed the entire selection process. Yet, no consensus had been reached between the constitutional authorities, and only “an exchange of letters” had taken place.
Directing the matter back to the Dhulia Committee, the Court said the panel must consider both the Chief Minister’s letter and the Chancellor’s reply and provide one final name for each university in a sealed cover, along with preference.
The report must be submitted by next Wednesday (December 17) so the Court can hear the matter on Thursday, i,e. December 18. The Registry has been directed to immediately communicate the order to Justice Dhulia.
Earlier, in December had indicated that it would intervene and make appointments itself if the Kerala Government and the Governor do not resolve their ongoing deadlock
Notably, on November 27, the Kerala Governor has approached the Supreme Court alleging that the Chief Minister forwarded only “incomplete records” relating to the appointment of Vice Chancellors for APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology, making it impossible for him to act on the recommendations of the Justice (retired) Sudhanshu Dhulia Committee.
Earlier, the Court had strongly criticised the Kerala Governor for holding up action on the report submitted by Justice Dhulia regarding the appointments of Vice Chancellors.
Previously in September, the Attorney General of India had mentioned before the Court an application filed by Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar seeking the removal of the Kerala Chief Minister from the Committee constituted for appointing regular Vice Chancellors of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology.
Recently, the Kerala Governor had approached the Supreme Court seeking modification of its August 18 order on the process for appointing Vice Chancellors to two state universities. In his application, the Governor urged the Court to exclude the Chief Minister from the selection process, include a nominee of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the search committee, and ensure that the Chancellor retains the discretion to choose from an alphabetical panel of shortlisted candidates.
On August 18, the Apex Court had appointed former judge of the Court, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, as the Chairperson of the Search and Selection Committee to appoint Vice Chancellors for two universities in Kerala; APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.
Earlier, on August 13, the Apex Court had said that it would itself constitute a Search Committee to oversee the process for appointing VCs to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology, after the State and the Chancellor failed to reach consensus on the issue.
Case Title: The Chancellor, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University v. State of Kerala & Ors.
Hearing date: December 11, 2025