Tamil Nadu: The Chennai High Court has ordered the university’s Chancellor and Governor, R.N. Ravi, to respond to Anna University’s lawsuit challenging the cancellation of the order removing the former vice-chancellor.
Velraj, the former vice-chancellor of Anna University, was accused of irregularities in the appointment of professors and the granting of accreditation to private colleges. Based on this, the university’s governing body issued an order removing Velraj, who was due to retire in July 2025.
Velraj appealed this order directly to the Governor of Tamil Nadu, who is the university’s chancellor. Based on this, the Governor issued an order cancelling Velraj’s removal on September 5, 2025. The Registrar of Anna University filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking the cancellation of this order.
When the case came up for hearing before Judge M. Thandapani on Tuesday, the Anna University Registrar argued that the Chancellor had issued the order cancelling the removal order without hearing the governing body’s explanation, whereas departmental action was to be taken against Velraj based on the Anti-Corruption Department’s investigation report.
The judge who heard the case later ordered the university’s Chancellor—the Governor of Tamil Nadu and former Vice-Chancellor Velraj—to respond to the petition and adjourned the hearing.
