New Delhi: Mahatma Gandhi University approached the Supreme Court to stay Kerala High Court's decision to cancel appointment of writer and Dalit activist Rekha Raj as assistant professor at School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies. Meanwhile, Rekha Raj also filed a separate petition to nullify the High Court order. 

Earlier, Kerala High Court directed Mahatma Gandhi University to appoint Nisha Velappan Nair, second rank holder on the list, in place of Rekha Raj. However, Nisha filed a contempt petition in High Court claiming that the University failed to take action to appoint her. The University decided to approach Supreme Court before High Court considers the contempt petition after the Onam vacation. MG University requested the apex court to temporarily stay appointment of Nisha until the court considers all petitions filed against the HC order.

The decision to approach Supreme Court was made after MG University held a meeting with the higher education department. According to MG University, they hold the right to make relaxations over rules concerning appointment to associate professor post. 

Rekha Raj was appointed as assistant professor at MG University in 2019. Nisha was awarded 46.61 marks and Rekha Raj received 49.40 marks. However, Nisha claimed in her petition to Kerala High Court that University dropped her scores while calculating the marks but awarded additional marks to Rekha Raj for qualifying for the National Eligibility Test (NET).