New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday took strong exception to Kerala Governor and Chancellor Rajendra Arlekar “not looking” at the report of the Sudhanshu Dhulia committee on the appointment of vice chancellors to two state universities, observing that it was “not just an ordinary piece of paper” and that he was bound to act on it.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan directed the governor to take a decision on the report within a week and inform the court on December 5.

The direction came after senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the Kerala government, submitted that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had forwarded his recommendations for the appointment of vice chancellors to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology based on the Justice Dhulia panel report, but no decision had been taken so far.

The bench noted that Justice (retd) Dhulia had prepared the report in compliance with the apex court's August 18 order. The chief minister subsequently forwarded it to the governor, it said, adding that the chancellor was expected to examine it without delay.

Responding to the governor's counsel's submission that the records relating to the recommended candidates had not been received, the court said this could not prevent him from examining the report. The judges reminded both sides that the panel had been formed with the consent of all parties.

At one point, the bench asked the governor's counsel to step out and seek instructions on when a decision could be taken. “This is not just an ordinary piece of paper. A former judge of the Supreme Court has looked into it. This is the law of the land,” Justice Pardiwala said, making it clear that the governor must act on the report.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on December 5.

In earlier proceedings, the Kerala governor had sought the exclusion of the chief minister from the VC selection process, saying the statutes governing the two universities did not envisage such a role.
The apex court, seeking to resolve the deadlock, had appointed Justice Dhulia to shortlist names after a long-standing dispute between Raj Bhavan and the state government over the appointments.