Keralam government and Governor reach formal settlement over Vice-Chancellor appointments to KTU and DUK
The Kerala government and the Governor have reached a formal settlement regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors for two state universities. The Supreme Court disposed of the petitions after both parties agreed to maintain current appointments while pursuing legislative amendments.
Why it matters
This resolution ends a long-standing legal and political dispute over the governance and autonomy of state-run educational institutions.
The Keralam government and Governor have reached a formal settlement regarding the appointments of Vice-Chancellors (V-C) to the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) and Digital University Kerala (or Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology) (DUK).
Ending months of protracted legal conflict, both parties informed the Supreme Court of the resolution. Following the consensus, the Supreme Court disposed of the petitions filed by the Governor, who also serves as the Chancellor of the State-run universities, regarding the appointments.
The special leave petitions (civil) were concluded by a Bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi during a special Lok Adalat session ‘2026 Samadhan Samaroh’ on August 23.
Under the terms of the settlement, Ciza Thomas will continue as the V-C of KTU, while Saji Gopinath will continue to serve as the V-C of DUK.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in