JOHN JOSEPH Vs. UNIVERSITY OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Will the General Council of the University Union of the Kerala University cease to function by reason of some of the members of the Council ceasing to be the students of the Colleges affiliated to the University This is the question that calls for decision in this appeal. The learned single Judge whose judgment is challenged by the General Secretary of the Kerala University Union has held that the Statute envisages a University Union for students and this necessarily means that the University Union must be of the students and by the students. Elaborating on this theme the learned Judge further finds that once some of the members of the General Council cease to be students the General Council itself would cease to function. In other words irrespective of the date the General Council comes into existence during an academic year it will normally cease to function at the end of the academic year since by then it is likely that some atleast of the members of the General Council would cease to be students by reason of passing out from the final year class of the colleges. Though the byelaws framed by the Syndicate in exercise of the powers conferred under S.5 of the Kerala University Act envisages continuance of the University. Union until a new Council is reconstituted this provision has been held to be ultra vires of S.5(xv)(c) of the Kerala University Act, as then it would enable a University Union to function though not composed entirely of students. We are called upon to decide the correctness of this view.

(2.) Thomas Mathew the petitioner in the Original Petition is a full time student undergoing study in the final year B.Sc. class in K. E. College at Mannanam, a college affiliated to the Kerala University. The Kerala University Union for students is functioning in terms of the byelaws made under S.40 of the Act. The Union has a General Council, an Executive Committee and an Accounts Committee. The General Council consists of the councillors of the Union elected from Colleges/Departments under the Kerala University. Among the functions and powers of the General Council of the Union election of 10 members from among the full-time students to the Senate of the University is envisaged under S.17 of the Act.

(3.) The General Council of the Union for the year 1981-82 was constituted by a notification dated 3-3-1982. By a notification dated 4-6-1982 issued by the Returning Officer/Registrar for election of student representative to the Senate such election by the members of the General Council of the Union for the year 1981-82 was notified. The election was to take place on 28-6-1982. This notification issued by the second respondent is Ext. P5. This notification is challenged in the Original Petition and that is on the basis that those who constituted the General Council on 3-3-1982 automatically went out of office on 31-5-1982 that being the close of the academic year 1981-82 and therefore they had no right to elect the student representatives to the Senate. In support of this plea reference is made to a decision of a learned single Judge of this Court in OP. No 5455 of 1981 There the question was whether as the byelaws stand the term of the General Council would expire by the end of the academic year. The decision therein was the subject of an appeal and since there was no occasion to consider that appeal on the merits of the matter is said to have been left open. Whatever that be the byelaws have been subsequently amended and it is the byelaws as amended that is now called into question. That we have to consider in this appeal. The question would be whether after the end of the academic year the General Council could continue to function so long as no new Council has been constituted.