Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday restated his former allegation that it was the pressure brought to bear on him by the Chief Minister's Office that led him to sanction the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as Kannur University vice chancellor.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday had criticised the Governor for "abdicating" and "surrendering" his powers as chancellor while reappointing Gopinath Ravindran. After the verdict, the Governor sought to absolve himself of all blame and laid all the fault at the feet of the Chief Minister.
The Governor once again recalled the chronology of events leading up to the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran in November 2021.
"The legal advisor of the Chief Minister and his officer on special duty (OSD) came to my office and told me that I had already promised to accommodate the wishes of the Chief Minister," the Governor told reporters on Thursday. He referred to them as "two johnnies from the CM's office". The legal advisor was K K Raveendranath, and the OSD was R Mohan. This was on November 21, 2021. Gopinath Ravindran's two-year term was set to expire on November 23, 2021.
The “johnnies” came to the Raj Bhavan after the Governor had constituted a selection committee to appoint a new Vice Chancellor. "I told them that it was not possible as it was legally untenable as the process was already on," the Governor said. "But they told me that they have legal opinion that said that the process could be scuttled," the Governor said.
When he asked whose opinion it was, the CM's legal advisor told the Governor that it was the advocate general's. "Then they produced what they said was the opinion of the AG. It had no signature. When I told them why would I presume this to be the AG's opinion, the legal advisor said he would produce the signed opinion of the AG," the Governor said.
The very next day, on November 22, the CM's men met the Governor and repeated their request. They also submitted the signed legal opinion of the AG, which was addressed to the Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department. The AG's opinion essentially said it was not against the law to cancel the notification for appointing a Search Committee for identifying the new VC and permit the Pro-Chancellor (higher education minister) to submit the necessary proposal for the reappointment of the incumbent for a further continuous term of four years. This opinion was also forwarded separately to Kerala Raj Bhavan by the higher education minister on that day itself (November 22).
The Governor said that he accepted the proposal as it came with the AG's legal advice. "I told them that what they were asking me to do was illegal, irregular, and not in line with the law," the Governor said on Thursday. By afternoon, the Governor officially allowed the government to withdraw the October 27 notification setting up the selection panel, thereby paving the way for the State Government to submit the necessary proposal for the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran.
A resentful Governor then wrote to the Chief Minister the very next day, November 23, 2021, expressing his willingness to step down from the post of the Chancellor. "I told him that did not want to continue as Chancellor because in future he would ask me to do more illegal things," the Governor said.
The Governor also refuted the Supreme Court observation that he had sat on bills passed by the Kerala Assembly for too long. Khan said at least four of the Bills for which he had withheld consent were money bills. "Money bills require the Governor's approval before being moved," the Governor said.
"These bills (amendments to University Laws) necessitated the appointment of one chancellor for each university and this meant that some expenditure would be incurred. If additional expenditure is involved, it is a money bill," the Governor said. As for the others, especially the bills that seek to change the composition of the university selection panel in favour of the government, the Governor said was a negation of UGC regulations.
If these were his reasons to withhold consent, here is his reason for the delay. "I was waiting for the Chief Minister to come and explain the thinking behind these bills. I was waiting to see if he could persuade me. Instead, the government moved the Supreme Court," the Governor said. He said the explanation offered by ministers and senior officials was not satisfactory.
"Any Bill concerning the welfare of the people of Kerala will not stay on my table for more than an hour," Khan said. "But if the government uses the power of law to destroy public institutions, universities and their autonomy, and if they go against the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the government cannot expect me to be their yes man," the Governor said.
He was also critical of the Supreme Court for passing adverse comments against him. "Before you give an opinion, you should give the person a chance to be heard," he said. On November 29, the Supreme Court had observed that the Kerala Governor had functioned like an "adversary" and said that the Governor had not given any reason for sitting on eight bills for nearly two years.
"This is just obiter dicta, not the ruling or command of the court," he said and added: "A Governor is answerable only to the President of India."
