Kerala HC Refuses to Reinstate Suspended Registrar in Bharat Mata Portrait Row

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday refused to reinstate Dr. KS Anil Kumar as Registrar of Kerala University. Dr. Kumar had been suspended after cancelling a seminar attended by Governor Rajendra Arlekar over the display of a Bharat Mata portrait with a saffron flag on the stage.

Justice TR Ravi dismissed his challenge to the suspension but directed the University’s Vice-Chancellor to call a Syndicate meeting to decide if the suspension should continue.

The controversy arose when Dr. Kumar issued a cancellation notice for the event at the University Senate Hall while the Governor was already present on stage. The move was viewed as an insult to the Governor, who is also the University’s Chancellor. Following this, Dr. Kumar was suspended on July 2.

Although the Syndicate later passed a resolution to revoke the suspension, the Vice-Chancellor maintained that the decision required his approval. Orders issued between July 8 and July 29 clarified that Dr. Kumar would remain suspended, with restrictions placed on his entry to the campus and access to University files.

Dr. Kumar argued before the Court that the Vice-Chancellor had misused his authority and ignored the Syndicate’s decision. Earlier, Justice Ravi had even likened the tussle between the Registrar and the Vice-Chancellor to a “cat and mouse game” playing out in public.

The Court has now made it clear that it will not intervene in the suspension but has left the final decision to the University Syndicate.