Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], August 22 (ANI): Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the appointment of Chief Minister's Private Secretary KK Ragesh's wife Priya Varghese as an associate professor at Kannur university.

The court has put a stay order on her appointment till August 31.

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Earlier, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said that he will order a full-fledged investigation into allegations of nepotism in appointments made to various posts in Universities in the state.

His statement came in the wake of a controversy in which the Governor stayed the appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Private Secretary and CPI (M) leader KK Ragesh, as an Associate Professor in Kannur University's Malayalam department.

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At present, she is working as deputy director of Kerala Basha Institute. Varghese was an assistant professor in Kerala Varma College in Thrissur and was working at Basha Institute on deputation as deputy director.

Earlier in 2021, a letter from Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu was out which recommended the reappointment of Dr Gopinath Ravindran (former VC of the university) as its Vice-Chancellor.

In the letter dated November 22, 2021, to the Governor, she had recommended Dr GopinathRavindran may be allowed to continue for another term as Vice-Chancellor and to cancel the notification dated October 27 this year appointing a Search-cum-Selection committee for identifying the person to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor.

In another letter dated November 22, 2021, the higher education minister mentioned that steps have been taken to withdraw the notification inviting applications to select a Vice Chancellor for Kannur University, after which Bindu welcomed the verdict of the Lokayukta to reappoint Ravindran as the university's vice-chancellor.

However, the High Court of Kerala as well as the Supreme Court of India dismissed a writ petition, holding that the impugned appointment violated no statutory provisions in the "reappointment" of the man concerned as the Vice-Chancellor. (ANI)

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