Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the appointment of Dr Priya Varghese as an associate professor at Kannur University.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, 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 KK Ragesh, 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.