The Centre allegedly misused its power and advised the then President in 2019 to reject candidates recommended by an expert committee for the post of vice-chancellor of the Central University of Kerala (CUK), documents submitted to Kerala High Court show.

A division bench of Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly on Monday heard a petition by activist and whistleblower Naveen Nautiyal and issued notices to the Union education ministry, CUK and the University Grants Commission (UGC), asking them to respond to the allegation of irregularities within four weeks.

The petitioner contended that according to the Central University Act, 2009, the VC shall be appointed by the Visitor — the President — from a panel recommended by the search-cum-selection committee (SSC). If the Visitor does not approve any of the persons on the panel, they can call for a fresh panel. The government has no say in the process.

However, in the case of the appointment of the Central University of Kerala VC, the human resource development ministry, now the education ministry, advised the Visitor to reject the names of the five candidates recommended by the search committee, the documents show.

The ministry also suggested that the Visitor ask the committee to recommend five other names. The Visitor’s office did so and later the search committee recommended the names of five persons whom it had initially rejected.

“On scrutiny of panel of names recommended by the SSC for appointment of VC of university (CUK), it has been found that there is no suitable candidate in the panel submitted by the committee,” said a summary note sent by the ministry to the Visitor in October 2019.

“The Minister of HRD now recommends to the honourable President of India, in his capacity as Visitor of the university, for rejection of the panel submitted by the SSC and ask the committee to recommend a fresh panel of five eminent academicians,” said the note, a copy of which was submitted by petitioner Nautiyal in the high court.

The SSC for the Central University of Kerala had as members Ashok Gajanan Modak, chancellor of Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya; V.G. Talwar, A.K. Mohapatra, B.K. Kuthiala and Arun Diwakar, all academics. Modak was the convenor of the committee.

The committee had initially shortlisted 16 candidates from among 223 applicants. After interviews, it recommended the names of five persons — Battu Satyanarayana, Chintamani Mahapatra, Manjunatha Pattabi, Meena R. Chandawakar and Sardul Singh Sandhu.

In its summary note, the then HRD ministry cited reasons to substantiate why it felt the candidates were not suitable. In case of Satyanarayana, the ministry said he was “arrogant” and an “average academic”. Satyanarayana was later made VC of the Central University of Karnataka and is currently serving there.

“The ministry has no right to interfere or comment on the suitability of any candidate for the VC’s post. The search panel is set up to judge the suitability of candidates. Only the Visitor can reject the panel and ask for a fresh panel,” Nautiyal told The Telegraph.

“What the ministry did is selective favouritism. It created some arbitrary ground to reject the panel. Being arrogant is not ground for disqualifying a person. The ministry has no power to judge the academic credentials of a person. And the same person was appointed VC in another central university a year later,” he said.

The Visitor accepted the fresh names suggested by the panel after the ministry’s note. These names were different from the 16 earlier shortlisted. The Central University of Kerala got its new VC in August 2020.

This newspaper sent an email to the higher education secretary, Sanjay Murthy, asking why the education ministry allegedly meddled in the process. His response is awaited.