Sanskrit University row: SC sends student plea back to Kerala HC, asks for speedy disposal

Kochi: In a relief to 16 suspended students of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS), Kalady, the Supreme Court on Thursday remitted their examination debarment dispute to the Kerala High Court Single Bench for expedited disposal. The apex court also recorded the university’s undertaking to conduct a special examination if the students succeed in their plea before the High Court.

The matter came up before a three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India. The students approached the SC after a High Court Division Bench set aside a Single Bench interim order allowing them to pay examination fees and appear for semester examinations, which began on Wednesday. Consequently, 10 undergraduate and postgraduate students missed their first-semester examination on Wednesday.

Students’ lawyer, Advocate KR Subhash Chandran, said the university had repeatedly sought time to file its counter-affidavit before the Single Bench.

“The writ petition challenging the suspension was filed back in October, and it came up on the 13th. Across three postings on October 13, 15, and 23, the university repeatedly sought time from the Single Bench to file its counter-affidavit. It was only when the administration failed to take a decision or submit its reply, and with examination deadlines lapsing, that the Single Bench granted provisional permission for the students to appear,” he said.

“Following this, the university moved the Division Bench and falsely claimed it was never afforded an opportunity to present its arguments. Accepting that submission at face value, the Division Bench issued an erroneous order quashing their exam permission,” he said.

He said the students’ primary demand before the apex court was to ensure they did not lose an academic year for participating in a democratic agitation.

“Our main request before the apex court was that students must not lose an entire academic year simply for engaging in a democratic agitation. All substantive matters, including the validity of the suspension, the inquiry report, and the police FIRs, remain pending consideration before the Single Bench. Today, the university submitted a formal undertaking before the Supreme Court that if the students succeed, it is ready to conduct a special examination for them. That was not merely an oral statement; the Supreme Court recorded the undertaking directly in its judicial order, creating a binding legal obligation on the varsity. The court has directed the Single Bench to hear and dispose of the matter at the earliest,” he said.

Chandran also disputed the university’s claims of attendance shortages and academic backlogs.

“Official attendance logs show that from the start of the semester on June 1 up until August 30, just before their September 1 suspension, every single student had between 85% and 90% attendance. It was by deliberately factoring in the subsequent 64 days of enforced suspension that the varsity manufactured an artificial attendance shortfall,” he said.

Furthermore, out of the 10 students slated to write the exams, eight have cleared all prior papers with zero backlogs or arrears. Only two students have a few remaining papers, and the lone student falling marginally short of the attendance cutoff is an elected University Union office-bearer entitled to a 20% institutional grace credit for student union activities. Once that statutory credit is applied, that student also crosses the mandatory threshold, he added.

“It was by concealing these facts and misleading the bench that the university obtained the Division Bench stay. We will place all these verified records before the Single Bench,” he said.

At Kalady, where the students entered the fourth day of an indefinite relay hunger strike, the Supreme Court's intervention brought relief.

“The Supreme Court directing the Single Bench to reconsider the issue brings immense relief. The Single Bench had earlier recognised our right to education. When our lost examinations are restored through the court, it will be a decisive victory,” said KK Abhijith, an affected student.

Abhijith also rejected the Syndicate’s proposal to revoke the suspension of students on condition that they submit a written apology.

“We have no intention of entering campus by tendering an apology. We will intensify the hunger strike while placing our complete faith in the judiciary,” he said.

The 16 suspended students comprise six PhD research scholars, seven postgraduate students and three undergraduates.

The dispute began on August 13, 2026, when students launched protests demanding solutions to drinking water shortages, hostel restrictions and faculty vacancies. The agitation escalated outside a Syndicate meeting, where Theatre Department scholars staged a street play depicting the metaphorical ‘death’ of their neglected department.

Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas and the administration alleged that the performance was a derogatory mock funeral targeting the VC and accused students of physically intimidating her and blocking her convoy. The students maintain that the allegations were fabricated to criminalise campus art and their agitation.