“I am again requesting you,” Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan told Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, as the Kerala High Court asked it to use its good office and reconsider the Suspension Of 16 Students before the plea is heard on merits on Friday.
Kochi: Orally, and without passing any order, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday, November 11, asked Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit to reconsider the suspension of 16 students over an alleged campus protest against the Vice-Chancellor, and posted their writ petition for hearing on merits on Friday, November 13 [Suspended Students v. Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit and Others].
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan heard the matter. Senior Advocate George Poonthottam appeared for the University.
“Wouldn’t these 60 days be enough?”
Justice Kunhikrishnan made clear that he was not endorsing the protest, and asked whether the time already spent under suspension was not enough:
“And thereafter, 60 days they are in suspension. You refused them to write examination also….You should use your good office.”
“I am not accepting the protest. But they suffered….Assume for argument’s sake there is misconduct. Wouldn’t these 60 days be enough?”
He asked the senior counsel to step in as an officer of the Court to resolve the matter, observing in Malayalam that in the end it is the students, and their parents, who suffer the most. He then repeated his request:
“You use your good office if possible. Otherwise I will hear the matter the day after tomorrow…. I am again requesting you.”
Questions on the second FIR
The Judge said he would hear the petition on merits on Friday and asked for a brief account of the facts. Enquiring what had led to the suspension, he noted that the allegation of assault and criminal force concerned a police officer, and that this had been cited as the ground for suspension. How, he asked, was a second FIR maintainable? The Court noted that the second FIR was registered three days after the incident, after the Vice-Chancellor alleged that she had been attacked.
Poonthottam for the University
Senior Advocate Poonthottam submitted that there was misconduct on the part of the students and that they had been protesting.
From the suspension to Friday’s listing
The students were suspended on September 1, 2026, pending a disciplinary enquiry, over a protest during a Syndicate meeting on the campus on August 13, 2026. It is alleged that the students staged a mock cremation of the Vice-Chancellor, that she was manhandled and that attempts were made to damage her vehicle. FIRs were registered after the incident. The allegations are untested, and the students are presumed innocent in the criminal cases.
On October 30, a single judge had allowed the students to write the examinations starting November 4. A Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. set that interim order aside on November 3. Following the Supreme Court’s November 5 order directing the High Court to consider the matter expeditiously, the students’ challenge to the suspension itself is now being heard.
The remarks were made orally during the hearing. No order on the suspension has been passed, and the Court has expressed no view on the merits. The matter is listed on Friday, November 13, 2026.
Why the hearing matters
Suspension pending enquiry is meant to be a temporary measure, not a punishment in itself. When an enquiry drags on and students lose examinations in the meantime, the suspension can end up costing more than any penalty that might follow. The Court’s questions, both on the length of the suspension and on the basis for a second FIR, point to the proportionality issues it is likely to examine on Friday.
The hearing also shows a familiar judicial approach in campus disputes: nudging the institution to resolve the matter itself before the Court rules. Whether the University responds to that request, or the Court decides the challenge on merits, the outcome will bear on how far universities can keep students out of classes and examinations while disciplinary proceedings remain unfinished.
Case Title: Suspended Students v. Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit and Others (Writ Petition)
Bench: Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan, Kerala High Court
Date of Hearing: November 11, 2026
For the University: George Poonthottam, Senior Advocate
Next Date: November 13, 2026
