The state government on Wednesday issued an order to transfer Kerala University registrar KS Anilkumar to his parent department. Dr. Anilkumar informed the government of his unwillingness to continue as registrar.
The university’s in-charge vice-chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal suspended Dr Anilkumar in July in connection with a disturbance during a program attended by Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar at the campus. The function was “interrupted” by the display of Bharat Mata’s portrait. Dr. Anilkumar had earlier ordered the organizers to remove the picture and warned that failure to do so would result in cancellation of the event.
However, the Vice Chancellor advised the Lok Bhavan to investigate and charge Dr. Anillkumara of misconduct for allegedly issuing an order to cancel the event when the governor was on stage and the national anthem was being played. The secretary was also accused of addressing the media from a stage “sanitized for counter-terrorism activities”.
The Vice-Chancellor’s report claimed that the actions of Dr. Kumara is prejudicial to the interests of the university and requires disciplinary action. Dr. However, Anilkumar refuted the allegation and claimed that the cancellation order was issued before the Governor reached the campus. He approached the High Court to lift the suspension. However, the court refused to intervene in the matter. After the syndicate decided to lift his suspension, the registrar again approached the High Court in November to lift his suspension.
Dr. Anilkumar was in his second term as registrar when the Bharat Mata row broke out. He was the Principal of KSMDB College, Sasthamcotta, when he was first appointed as the KU Registrar in 2021. He was re-appointed as the Registrar for a four-year term in February this year.
Translated by Dr. Anilkumara comes after a long tussle between the state government and the Lok Bhavan, which recently ended with the appointment of vice-chancellors of two state-run universities. Amicable talks were held between the chief minister and the governor, who is also the chancellor, to end the deadlock.
Published – 17 Dec 2025 21:35 IST
