The Kerala High Court has barred the salaries of the Vice Chancellor and Registrar of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, until the pending fellowship of a PhD scholar is disbursed. The Court strongly criticised the university’s actions, with Justice D K Singh observing, “If the Vice Chancellor of the University is being paid salary regularly, there can be no justification for non-payment of the petitioner's fellowship.”

The petitioner, Aadhi (26), a doctoral fellow at the university, approached the court after being denied the fellowship amount despite official sanction. “The fellowship disbursal was delayed for over a year. As someone from the queer community, I have no other source of support. This fellowship is my only support I have. Such a delay is totally unacceptable,” Aadhi, a native of Kozhikode and a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, told Onmanorama.

The university fellowship, amounting to ₹12,000, is provided to students who do not receive JRF or e-grants scholarship. Since January 6, 2025, AKRSA and SFI have been protesting with various demands, including the distribution of fellowships.

As a result of the protest, which lasted for around 25 days, the fellowship amount for one year (from December 2023 to December 2024) was disbursed. The currently pending amount is from January 2025. “There are other scholars from various universities across Kerala protesting for the same reason, and I hope this verdict brings hope and support to them,” Aadhi added. Onmanorama reached out to the university authorities but could not get a response.

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The university cited financial difficulties for the delay. However, the Court rejected this explanation and directed the university to clear the pending fellowship within a month. The Court further noted that the government had already released ₹2,62,56,000 to the university, raising doubts over the institution’s claims of financial hardship. It also directed the university to ensure that the petitioner continues to receive fellowship payments regularly.
(With Live Law Inputs)

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