Notably, three of the petitioners, namely Nanda Kishore, Arunima Ashok and Kavya TS, had filed a similar challenge earlier as well to nominations made in 2023 by the Chancellor to the University’s senate.
Arif Khan’s 2023 decision to nominate Abhishek D Nair, Dhruvin SL, Malavika Udayan and Sudhi Sadan to the Senate drew controversy over allegations that some of these nominees were picked due to their affiliation with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
Two writ petitions were, therefore, filed before the High Court by four students who questioned whether the nominees possessed the outstanding qualities required of them.
On May 21 this year, the High Court set aside these nominations and asked the Chancellor to make fresh nominations within six weeks after considering the claims of the petitioners.
However, the revised nominations have also now been challenged by the petitioners on allegations that the Chancellor did not consider their merits before nominating four other students.
In their plea, they added that when the Chancellor invokes statutory powers to make nominations, the process should be fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the university and its Senate.
The Court had issued notice in the matter on July 12. The case will be heard after three weeks.
Source: Barandbench
