VC Deadlock: Reach consensus by Tuesday or...: SC to Kerala Guv, CM

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said it will intervene to resolve the ongoing deadlock over the selection of vice chancellors for two technical universities in Kerala if Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor-cum-chancellor Rajendra Arlekar do not reach a consensus.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and PB Varale was hearing the matter related to the appointments of VCs of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, and the University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology. The bench asked Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the governor, and senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the chief minister, to find out some amicable solution to the impasse.

Venkataramani submitted that the Justice (Retd) Sudhanshu Dhulia committee had recommended two sets of names and the chancellor had picked two names.

"The chief minister has some difficulty with some names. There are some common names," the AG said. Advocate Gupta said that the name, which is not acceptable to the chief minister, is the only one that the governor-cum-chancellor agrees upon.