Kerala Governor questions SC, says institutions must know, respect their limits in democracy

Days after the Supreme Court decided to go ahead with the selection of Vice Chancellors, Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Sunday said that in a democracy, every institution has its limits and that the health of democratic functioning depends on knowing and respecting those limits.

The Governor was speaking after conferring the Justice VR Krishna Iyer Award on former Chief Justice of India and former Kerala Governor Justice (retd) P Sathasivam.

The award was instituted by the LAW Trust (Legal Assistance and Welfare Trust).

Arlekar’s remarks come in the backdrop of a recent Supreme Court direction appointing a committee headed by Justice (retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia to recommend one name each for the appointment of vice chancellors to two technical universities in Kerala, in an attempt to resolve the deadlock between the Governor and the Kerala Chief Minister over the issue.

The Governor moved the top court challenging the order of the division bench of the Kerala High Court disposing of a plea filed against a single judge’s order setting aside the November 27, 2024, notification appointing Professor K Sivaprasad of Cochin University of Science and Technology as vice-chancellor, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University.

A statement issued by Lok Bhavan here said that the Governor deplored the tendency of one institution usurping the role of another in a democracy.

“He said that the power to amend the Constitution is vested with the Parliament and elected legislature, and the courts are there to ‘interpret the Constitution and not to amend the Constitution’,” the statement read.

The Governor said that contradictory interpretations/verdicts on the same matter/issue are not in the true spirit of the Constitution.

“He was referring to the three-member Supreme Court judgement on Kannur University Vice Chancellor appointment earlier, which upheld the supremacy of the Chancellor in the appointment process,” the statement said.

The Governor is the Chancellor of most state universities in Kerala.

Accepting the award, Sathasivam said that courts have to remain committed to Justice Krishna Iyer’s humanist ideals, even when society is turning increasingly ‘digital’. Judges of the Kerala High Court, H Nagaresh, K Babu, and A Badarudeen, were present on the occasion.