Convocation row: Action sought against VC of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli

MADURAI: A petitioner moved the Madurai bench of Madras High Court seeking appropriate action against the Vice Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU), Tirunelveli, for awarding a doctoral degree to a student despite the presence of the Chancellor of Tamil Nadu State Universities during the convocation

B Ramkumar Adityan, the petitioner from Tiruchendur, said the 32nd convocation ceremony of the MSU was held on August 13, 2025.

Tamil Nadu Governor and Chancellor RN Ravi presided over the convocation ceremony and conferred degrees to 37,376 students from 104 affiliated colleges and the university. Jean Joseph, a graduate from Nagercoil, walked past the Chancellor, who immediately called her to his right-hand side, but she received her degree certificate from the Vice Chancellor.

She deliberately opted to forgo the protocol of receiving her doctoral degree certificate from the Chancellor and instead accepted it from the Vice Chancellor, which is a serious breach of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Act.

The graduate could have obtained the degree directly from the office of the university in person or by post if she really didn’t like to receive it from the Chancellor. At least, the Vice Chancellor should have instructed the graduate to do so.

This is an example of a student using a public ceremony to make a political statement, which has sparked debate about the role of political expression in academic settings, the petitioner stated.

The petitioner sought the Court to grant an order of interim direction to the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor to suspend the validity of the PhD degree of the graduate.

A division bench comprising Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice KK Ramakrishnan, after hearing, sought provisions for initiating action as per the University Act and adjourned the case to December 18.