Kerala High Court on Thursday stated that the wife of the chief minister’s private secretary did not have the requisite qualification to be selected as an associate professor of Kannur University and directed the institution to revise the rank list.

Priya Varghese is the wife of former Rajya Sabha member K.K. Ragesh, who has since been working as the private secretary of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The single bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran allowed the writ petition filed by Joseph Skariah, who ranked second after Varghese in the selection for assistant professor in the department of Malayalam at Kannur University.

The court’s decision is seen as a major setback for the government that is engaged in a pitched battle with governor Arif Mohammad Khan, who has alleged large-scale nepotism in the state’s universities. Khan’s attempt to remove 11 vice-chancellors has since been stayed by the high court.

Khan had earlier stayed the selection of Varghese. On Thursday, the court ruled that Varghese did not have the mandatory eightyear teaching experience to be considered for such a position and her selection was not in accordance with the UGC Regulations, 2018.

The bench noted that the UGC regulations are clear about adequate teaching experience. Varghese said she welcomed the judgment but would “explore the possibility of an appeal after consulting my lawyers”. Higher education minister R. Bindu said: “It is Kannur University that appointed Priya Varghese. The government has no role in her appointment.”