Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked Kannur University to clarify how the screening committee evaluated the eligibility documents of Priya Varghese while appointing her to the post of associate professor.

The court further observed that the appointment of an associate professor was not child's play.

It also expressed displeasure with the affidavit submitted by the registrar of the varsity. The university, in the affidavit, stated that Priya was appointed on the basis of sufficient qualification.

Kannur University had filed a counter-petition seeking the dismissal of the petition submitted by the second-ranked candidate challenging the appointment, terming it immature.

The High Court stayed the appointment of Priya based on the petition filed by Dr Joseph Scariah, who came second in the rank list, challenging her eligibility and the process of her selection.

While considering the case, the University Grants Commission informed the court that Priya's research period cannot be considered as teaching experience. The University submitted an affidavit against this too.

Priya's appointment was frozen by the governor, who is also the chancellor of the university, alleging nepotism. Priya is the wife of K K Ragesh, the private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

It is alleged that Priya had the worst research score among the six applicants for the post in the Malayalam department.

However, she topped the rank list after the interview conducted by a committee led by the vice-chancellor. The information came to light following an RTI inquiry.

Joseph Scariah, who had applied for the same post, ended up second in the final rank list despite having a research score of 651 compared to Priya's 156.