Kerala High Court Blocks Suspended Sanskrit Students From Exams

A division bench of the Kerala High Court set aside a single judge's interim order that had permitted 16 suspended students of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit at Kalady to appear for university examinations scheduled to begin on November 4.

The bench, comprising Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S, passed the ruling on Tuesday, November 3, on an appeal filed by the university against the single judge's October 30 interim order.

“Political activities like dharna, hunger strikes, and other practices like satyagraha have no place in a constitutional democracy, much less in academic institutions.”

The case stems from a protest held by students on August 13, 2026, while the university's syndicate was meeting. The university alleged that protesting students conducted a symbolic funeral of the Vice-Chancellor and later obstructed and assaulted her as she was leaving her office.

The incident led to two First Information Reports at Kalady Police Station. On September 1, the university suspended 16 students and initiated disciplinary proceedings against them.

The students approached the High Court arguing that continued suspension without a final decision affected their studies and prevented them from attending classes. They denied conducting any symbolic funeral of the Vice-Chancellor.

The division bench held that political activities like dharna, hunger strikes, and satyagraha have no place in a constitutional democracy, much less in academic institutions. The bench cited a 2017 judgement stating that students engaging in such activities are liable to be expelled or rusticated.

The court made it clear that observations touching on the merits of the issue pending before the single judge were made for the limited purpose of disposing of this appeal.