THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan in a move against vice-chancellors (VC) will deem the appointment of eight VCs invalid and try to recover their salaries from the appointment date. The governor will issue an order in this regard after he returns to the state.

Earlier, the Governor had issued a show-cause notice to the VCs. It expires tomorrow. Dr Mahadevan Pillai, who retired from the University of Kerala, and six VCs of the state had approached the High Court demanding the cancellation of the notice.

The petition was filed demanding that the Governor, who is the chancellor, has no authority to seek the cause for not expelling them and that the judges of the High Court or the Supreme Court should conduct a direct inquiry into the allegations including misappropriation of funds. The governor’s new move comes amid this.