Kochi: Kerala High Court on Monday has stayed the appointment of Dr Priya Varghese as the associate professor in Malayalam department of the institution till the next hearing of the case. The interim stay was issued in a petition filed by Dr Joseph Sacaria, second rank holder in the interview.
The move comes days after the Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the Chancellor of the university, froze the selection. Kerala Governor , who is also the Chancellor of state universities, had stayed Priya’s appointment last week alleging nepotism. The order was challenged by the University Syndicate in the High Court.
Priya is the wife of CPM leader KK Ragesh, who is also the private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. It is alleged that Priya Varghese had the worst research score among six applicants for the post in the Malayalam department. However, she climbed the rank list after the interview that was conducted by a committee led by the vice-chancellor. The information came to light following an RTI inquiry. Joseph Scariah, a candidate for the same post had ended up second in the final ranklist despite having a research score of 651 compared to Priya Varghese’s 156.
The court directed the Union Grants Commission (UGC) to be a party in the case and sought an explanation over the petitioner’s claim that guidelines and regulations were not followed in the selection process. Joseph Sacaria had argued that Kannur University moved ahead with the appointment of Priya Varghese by disregarding the UGC guidelines. He said Priya lacks necessary qualifications mandated by UGC. The court will also issue a notice to Priya Varghese. The next hearing is on August 31.
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