Plea In Kerala High Court Seeks Inquiry Against Calicut University Vice Chancellor Over Alleged Misappropriation Of Funds
A plea has been moved before the Kerala High Court by the elected member to the Senate of the Calicut University alleging misappropriation of funds by the University's Vice-Chancellor. The allegation was regarding the misappropriation of crores of money by the Vice Chancellor for the purchase and installation of Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) which are automated racks used...
A plea has been moved before the Kerala High Court by the elected member to the Senate of the Calicut University alleging misappropriation of funds by the University's Vice-Chancellor. The allegation was regarding the misappropriation of crores of money by the Vice Chancellor for the purchase and installation of Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) which are automated racks used for storing and maintaining answer sheets in the University.
Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. issued notice to Dr M K Jayaraj, Vice Chancellor of Calicut University. Advocate P.C. Sasidharan took notice on behalf of Calicut University and Senior Advocate P Sreekumar took notice on behalf of the Chancellor.
The plea alleges that the Finance Officer of the University had noted that ASRS was outdated and unsuitable for the University. It was alleged that the Finance Officer had specifically noted that installing ASRS would result in huge expenses. It was stated that no administrative sanction was obtained from competent authorities and the budget was sanctioned without placing it before the Statutory Finance Committee as per the Calicut University First Statutes.
The plea stated that the initial estimate for the purchase was calculated as more than 3 crores of rupees, and the total estimate was 10 crores of rupees. It is stated that now a total amount of more than 26 crores has been spent on the ASRS and that it is still not functional or fully automated. It is stated that manual employees are being posted to do these tasks manually despite spending crores of money to make it automated.
It is alleged that the Vice Chancellor has misused and misappropriated huge amounts of university funds contrary to the statute. It is alleged that he has gained illegal gratification from the ASRS. The petitioner had approached the Chancellor for a detailed enquiry, however, no action has been taken yet.
The petitioner has thus approached the High Court seeking direction to the Chancellor to conduct a detailed inquiry against the Vice Chancellor in connection with the misappropriation of University funds in the guise of ASRS.
The plea has been moved by Senior Advocate George Poonthotam instructed by Advocates Nisha George, A.L.Navaneeth Krishnan
Case Title: Dr. Rasheed Ahamed P. V University of Calicut
Case Number: WP(C) 24966/ 2024