Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday set aside an interim order permitting 16 suspended students of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit to appear for the university examinations scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S allowed an appeal filed by the university challenging the October 30 order of a Single Judge. The earlier order had directed the university to accept the examination fees of the suspended students and allow them to write the examinations.

The Division Bench observed that the students' writ petition lacked sufficient pleadings to establish the entitlement of those other than PhD scholars to appear for the examinations. It also noted that the interim relief granted by the Single Judge virtually amounted to granting the main relief sought in the petition.

The court, therefore, held that the interim order could not be sustained.

The 16 students were suspended on September 1, 2026, following a protest on the university campus on August 13, during a Syndicate meeting. The protest allegedly involved a mock cremation of the Vice-Chancellor. It was also alleged that the Vice-Chancellor was physically manhandled and that attempts were made to damage her vehicle as she left the office after the meeting.

The students, however, maintained that they had staged a mock funeral of the stage lights, which were allegedly not functioning.

Following the incident, FIRs were registered against the students, and the university suspended them pending disciplinary proceedings.

Although a committee conducted hearings on September 29 and 30 and subsequently submitted its report, the report has not been placed before the Syndicate due to certain procedural defects.

Aggrieved by the prolonged suspension and their exclusion from the campus without the completion of disciplinary proceedings, the students approached the High Court.

While the writ petition was pending, they filed an interlocutory application seeking permission to appear for the examinations beginning Wednesday. A Single Judge allowed the plea on October 30, prompting the university to challenge the order before the Division Bench.

The Division Bench has now set aside that interim relief.

(With Live Law inputs)