New Delhi: The Kerala High Court upheld the appointment of Priya Varghese as Associate Professor at Kannur University while the Supreme Court mulled over whether the statute was correctly interpreted. While considering the petition filed by the UGC against the high court action, a bench consisting of Justices J.K Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol pointed out this confusion over statutes. The court adjourned the case for four weeks, giving the UGC time to reply to Priya Varghese’s affidavit. 

Dr Joseph Skaria, the Head of the Malayalam department at SB college, Changanacherry had filed a complaint against Priya’s appointment. He had scored a position next to Priya in the rank list. The complaint states that Priya did not have the required eight years of teaching experience to be appointed as an Associate Professor. Since her appointment was approved, Justice Sanjay Karol asked whether the high court erred in interpreting the UGC statute. Priya Varghese’s lawyer also demanded that a detailed reasoning be given for the same. 

Earlier, the Supreme Court had verbally observed that the action of the High Court in upholding the appointment was wrong to a certain extent. The reference was made by sending notices when considering the appeals filed by the UGC and the complainant Dr Joseph Skaria.