Kerala HC allows plea by Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit against permitting suspended students to appear for examinations

The Kerala High Court has allowed a petition filed by Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady against permitting 16 suspended students to appear for the semester examinations set to begin on November 4, 2026. Ciza Thomas, Vice-Chancellor, along with the varsity Syndicate had moved the Kerala High Court seeking to set aside a single Bench order which allowed the suspended students of the university to write the semester examinations.

They had challenged the single Bench order to accept the examination fee from the students and provisionally permit them to write the examinations. The Division Bench of Justices Anil K. Narendran and S. Muralee Krishna held that the single Bench erred in issuing the directions in the absence of evidence from the students demonstrating their eligibility to appear for the examinations, including the required internal assessment marks and attendance.

The court noted that the students had sought to appear for the examinations without filing an application to condone shortage of attendance. It also held that no court was authorised to direct a university to act in contravention of the regulations governing the academic course. The court also noted that the single Bench had not granted the university an opportunity to respond to the students’ plea while issuing the directions.

The students were under suspension pending inquiry for allegedly staging a mock funeral of the vice-chancellor and attempting to damage her property.