Kannur University VC's last recruitment on the day he lost his job stayed by HC

Kannur: Kannur University's former Vice Chancellor Prof Gopinath Ravindran, who frequently faced charges of favouritism in recruitment, allegedly influenced another tainted selection process in the Department of Geography on the day his reappointment was quashed by Supreme Court.

The High Court of Kerala on Friday (December 22) deferred the appointment of Dr Sudeep T P as an assistant professor in the open category. The appointment was challenged by Dr K B Bindu from Thrissur's Mundathicode on two major grounds -- one, Dr Sudeep's PhD guide Prof Sachidananda Sinha from Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) was on the selection committee, in a direct conflict of interest; and two, after the Supreme Court quashed his reappointment as Vice Chancellor on November 30, he nominated another professor to stand in as the chairman of the selection committee. "On cessation of office, he had no authority to reconstitute or nominate a person as his substitute," Dr Bindu, who has 11 years of teaching experience as a guest lecturer, said in her petition. She is second on the open category ranking list which had three names.

In 2022, Kannur University called for applications to fill two posts of Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography -- one in the open category and one in the Scheduled Caste Category. The interview was scheduled on November 29 and 30, and Prof Ravindran, as chairman of the Selection Committee, nominated JNU's Prof Sinha to the committee as the subject expert. He attended the interview online. Prof Sinha should have recused himself from the selection process, considering his protégé was a candidate, said Dr Bindu. "His presence has vitiated the selection process," she said.

Dr Bindu also pointed out that the selection process was completed by two committees as Prof Ravindran nominated another professor to chair the committee. Firstly, the university's statute and regulations did not envision the constitution of a stopgap selection committee. Secondly, there cannot be uniformity in evaluation if two separate committees conduct the interviews, she said.

Though the university Syndicate approved Dr Sudeep's selection, the university has not yet appointed him. Hearing Dr Bindu's petition on December 22, Justice Viju Abraham asked the university to defer his appointment till January 8, when the case will be heard next.

The Save University Campaign Committee -- a whistleblower organisation -- has also written to Chancellor Arif Mohammed Khan to annul the selection process and cancel the appointment of Dr Sudeep as Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Kannur University, calling it "illegal and unethical".

'University favoured candidates with JNU link'
Now, the Kerala Private College Teachers' Association (KPCTA) has accused Prof Ravindran of favouring another candidate in the SC category too. The university's selection committee, instituted by Prof Ravindran, overlooked six candidates with doctoral degrees, and recommended the appointment of Balakrishnan Padmavathi to the post of assistant professor in the Scheduled Caste category, said Dr Shino P Jose, president of KPCTA's Kannur Regional Committee.

"Balakrishnan Padmavathi was the only candidate without a PhD. Yet, his was the only name recommended for the post in the SC category. This is the latest example of favouritism in Kannur University's appointments. We will challenge his appointment in the High Court," said Dr Jose, whose petition in the Supreme Court had earlier led to Prof Ravindran losing his job as the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University.

According to a notice issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on June 30, 2023, a PhD is not a mandatory qualification for the post of assistant professor; clearing the National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Level Eligibility Test is enough. "But a PhD is a desirable qualification. Here, the Selection Committee not only overlooked six candidates with PhDs but did not name anyone else in the ranking list other than Balakrishnan Padmavathi," said Dr Jose.

That is particularly suspicious because, in the rank list for the open category, the same selection committee had three names in the ranking list, he said.

What ties the recruitment in both the open category and SC category is that both have a JNU connection. Balakrishnan Padmavathi did his Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy in Geography in JNU's School of Social Science, where Prof Sinha is a professor, said Dr Jose.

But he taught in Delhi University's Miranda House -- No. 1 college for seven consecutive years -- for three years as a temporary assistant professor, and for the past four years and a half, he has been teaching at DU's Indraprastha College for Women.

Since Priya Varghese...
Kannur University, under Prof Ravindran, faced several allegations of favouritism. The most controversial was the appointment of Dr Priya Varghese as Associate Professor in the Department of Malayalam in November 2021. She was picked by the selection committee despite having lower research scores than other candidates. She is the wife of K K Ragesh, private secretary of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

In November 2023, Safna Hussan K P, a candidate for the post of Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, said she was listed as Rank 3 and the first Muslim in the Open category; but in the Muslim category list, she was listed third.

For the registrar's appointment, the university received only three applications and it rejected two saying they did not have the required experience. The university was caught lying and had to correct its affidavit submitted to the High Court and interview the rejected applicant.