Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 21 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Friday cancelled the appointment of M.S. Rajasree as Vice-Chancellor of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University in Kerala.

Rajasree was appointed in 2019 for a period of four years and this shock exit comes at a time when there were only a few months left for her to retire.

The apex court ruled her appointment as invalid as crucial UGC norms for appointments were not followed as was raised in a petition filed by P.S. Sreejith, whose plea to the same was dismissed by the Kerala High Court in 2021.

Speaking to the media, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said this is what they have been pointing out all the while.

"There is absolutely no system in place when it comes to appointments as we often point out and this is the same with various universities," said Satheesan.

Friday's development has come as a jolt to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the Kerala High Court and the Chancellor of Universities, state Governor Arif Mohammed Khan have stopped the appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of the private secretary to Vijayan in a teaching post at the Kannur University.

Even the re-appointment of the Kannur University's Vice-Chancellor AGopinath Raveendran has emerged as a hotly-debated topic in the state.