Kerala High Court stays memo issued by KU V-C to former Registrar

The Kerala High Court has stayed the memo of charges that Kerala University’s Vice-Chancellor in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal had issued to its former Registrar K.S. Anilkumar.

A Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan stayed the memo, following a plea by Mr. Anilkumar, challenging the memo. Stating that the memo of charges was issued without any authority, the court also stayed all further proceedings based on the memo until further orders. The V-C can file counter-affidavit and bring up the matter if there is any urgency, it said.

The V-C had issued the memo to Mr. Anilkumar, alleging that he handled files during his suspension period. To this, the court asked whether the V-C has the powers to issue the memo.

Admittedly, the university is the appointing authority of the Registrar. Here, the Vice-Chancellor invoked Section 10(13) of the Kerala University Act, 1974 and issued the memo of charges. What was the emergency situation that led to the issuance of memo is not clear, the court observed.

Mr. Anilkumar had submitted in his plea that after issuing the memo by invoking the Section, this was not placed in the subsequent Syndicate meeting which was held on December 24, 2025. That itself shows that there is something behind the memo, he added.