An interim order that virtually hands over the main relief needs a very strong prima facie case behind it, and the Kerala High Court found the pleadings did not make one out, setting aside an order that allowed 16 Suspended Sanskrit University Students to write examinations beginning November 4.
Kochi: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit has won its appeal before the Kerala High Court against a single judge’s interim order of October 30, 2026, which had directed it to accept examination fees from 16 suspended students and let them appear for the examinations starting on November 4; the Division Bench allowed the appeal on Tuesday, November 3 [Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit v. Suspended Students].
The judgment was delivered by a Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S.
Where the pleadings fell short
Two things troubled the Division Bench. The writ petition did not plead how the petitioners, other than the PhD scholars, were entitled to appear in the examinations, and the single judge’s interim order virtually granted the main relief sought.
“There is total lack of pleading in the writ petition regarding the entitlement of the petitioners other than PhD scholars to appear in the examination which was scheduled to commence on 04.11.2026 as per the requirements. Therefore the pleadings do not make out a very strong prima facie case as per the requirements laid down by the Apex Court and the impugned order granted by the learned Single Judge by order dated 30.10.2026 is virtually the main relief sought by the petitioner. The said interim order cannot be sustained.”
The appeal was accordingly allowed and the interim order set aside. The students’ writ petition challenging the suspension remains pending before the single judge, and the Division Bench’s ruling concerns only the interim relief.
How the dispute reached the Division Bench
The students were suspended on September 1, 2026, pending a disciplinary enquiry, over a protest on the University campus on August 13, 2026, during a Syndicate meeting. It is alleged that the students staged a mock cremation of the Vice-Chancellor, that she was physically manhandled, and that attempts were made to damage her vehicle as she left after the meeting. FIRs were registered after the incident. These allegations are untested, and the students are presumed innocent in the criminal cases.
The enquiry committee heard the matter on September 29 and 30, 2026 and submitted its report, which was not placed before the Syndicate because of certain procedural defects. The students went to the High Court against their prolonged suspension and exclusion from the campus while the disciplinary proceedings remained unconcluded, and filed an interlocutory application to sit for the November examinations. The single judge allowed that application.
Interim relief and campus discipline
Interim orders exist to preserve the position until a case is decided, not to hand over the final relief. Where an interim direction would in effect decide the dispute, courts expect a very strong prima facie case built on specific pleadings, which the Division Bench found missing here.
The case also shows the pull between campus discipline and students’ academic progress. A long suspension, with an enquiry report left unacted upon, can cost students a semester, and the pending writ petition is where that grievance will now be tested.
Case Title: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit v. Suspended Students (Writ Appeal)
Bench: Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S., Kerala High Court
Date of Judgment: November 3, 2026