Govt names M V Rajesh IHRD director, replaces controversial appointee Arun Kumar
M V Rajesh replaced V A Arun Kumar as IHRD director following controversy over Kumar's appointment, which was deemed ineligible by AICTE and challenged in court.
M V Rajesh replaced V A Arun Kumar as IHRD director following controversy over Kumar's appointment, which was deemed ineligible by AICTE and challenged in court.
M V Rajesh replaced V A Arun Kumar as IHRD director following controversy over Kumar's appointment, which was deemed ineligible by AICTE and challenged in court.
The Kerala government on Tuesday appointed M V Rajesh as the director of the Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD), replacing V A Arun Kumar, son of former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, whose appointment had courted controversy.
Arun Kumar's appointment immediately sparked criticism, with opponents alleging that it was influenced by his political connections. He was appointed after the state government amended the special rules of the institute, as the selection process concluded without any appointment after none of the candidates secured the minimum qualifying mark of 60 per cent fixed by the selection committee.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in October 2024 declared that he was ineligible for the director’s post at the Institute of Human Resource Development (IHRD), though he attended the interview.
According to AICTE's reply citing the 2019 regulation, the candidates for the post of director/ principal of technical institutes should have i) PhD degree and first class or equivalent at either Bachelor's or Master's Level in relevant branch; ii) successfully guided at least two PhD students and eight research publications; and iii) Minimum 15 years of experience in teaching/ research/ industry, out of which at least 3 years shall be at the post equivalent to that of professor. Arun Kumar does not meet the last two criteria.
The state government, allegedly to ensure Arunkumar attended the interview and got the job, amended the special rules of the institute and added an alternative criterion: That the candidate should have "seven years of experience in the cadre of Additional Director under IHRD service" — a requirement that only he met.
Later, Dr Vinu Thomas, Dean (Academic) and Controller of Examinations (in charge) at APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, who had also applied for the post of IHRD director, moved the Kerala High Court challenging the move.
Thomas had argued that the recruitment notification did not prescribe any minimum qualifying marks and that the selection committee had no authority to introduce a cut-off after the selection process had begun.
He also alleged that Arun Kumar was wrongly awarded five marks for teaching experience and 10 marks for research experience despite having no teaching experience and never having supervised any research scholars. According to Thomas, the additional 15 marks placed Arun Kumar at the top of the rank list, paving the way for his appointment.
However, the court dismissed the plea, holding that employers or selection committees are not legally bound to disclose minimum qualifying marks in recruitment notifications. The court observed that, for senior managerial posts such as director, institutions are entitled to prescribe appropriate benchmarks during the selection process.