The Kerala High Court on Friday extended the stay on the appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of the private secretary of Kerala  chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as an associate professor at the Malyalam department in Kannur university till 20 October.

A single bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran extended the stay following an affidavit submitted by the University Grants Commission(UGC) at the court stating Priya Varghese does not have the requisite teaching experience to be appointed as associate professor at the Malyalam department in Kannur university

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In the  affidavit filed before the High Court the  UGC said Priya’s research duration cannot be considered as teaching period. The court has granted time for Priya Varghese to file a counter affidavit.

The High Court has, last month, stayed the appointment in a petition filed by  Joseph Scariah, a candidate for the same post, who had ended up second in the final rank list

Earlier,  Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, in his capacity as Chancellor of university, had stayed her appointment.