The Vilanilam Issue
Mr. J. V. Vilanilam was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala (1992-96). When appointedVice-Chancellor, he was Professor at the Department of Communication & Journalism, University of Kerala. And when appointed Professor in 1983, he did not have teaching experience in Communication or Journalism, not even for an hour, in any college anywhere in the world. He only had a Master’s Degree in Communication from the USA to his credit.

Mr. J. V. Vilanilam stated in his bio data that he was an Adjunct Professor (equivalent to Visiting Professor) at Rutgers University, New Jersey. But records with Rutgers University show that he was a Documentation Assistant in the Alcoholism Study Center for six months. (Incidentally, one of his published books is on Alcoholism).

The Selection Committee, as per the Kerala University records, selected Mr. J. V. Vilanilam over other contenders for the post, considering his “higher qualifications”.

The other two contenders for the post of Professor were Mr. Ravi Varma Thampuran and Mr. Thangadurai. Both had MS in Communication from the USA and both were Readers in the Department of Journalismwith not less than five years of teaching experience.

Mr. J. V. Vilanilam got an edge over the other two candidates thanks to his PhD from Sussex College of Technology, England, and a D.Litt. from Bhagalpur University, India. Besides, his bio data stated that he was doing a PhD program under Prof. Dennis McQuil at the Amsterdam University.
Bogus PhD and Dubious D.Litt.
The PhD from Sussex College of Technology was a “bogus degree” (as stated by the British Council, London), one with “no academic value” (as stated by the Department of Higher Education, London), and “spurious” (as stated by the University of Sussex).

Information about Sussex College of Technology and its spurious business were reported in Times (Newspaper report attached). As per the report, Sussex College of Technology, from where Mr. J. V. Vilanilam bought his PhD, was one of the four ‘universities’ housed in the residence of one Mr. Bruce Copen, a retired Air Force Corporal. His ‘universities’ offered Degrees in different subjects, ranging from Homoeopathy to Astrophysics, for a price. The Prospectus of Sussex College of Technology clearly stated that the Degrees were only ornamental and should not be used for any academic purpose. The report further stated that the price of the bogus PhD (which Mr. Vilanilam had bought) was 155 British pounds, and cited instances of convictionin the UK against personsfor having used the bogus Degrees from Sussex College of Technology for academic purposes.

The bogus nature of Mr. J. V. Vilanilam’s PhD questions the genuineness of his D.Litt. (a post-Doctoral Degree) from Bhagalpur University, which he mentioned in his bio-data submitted for the post of Professor. When he got the D.Litt. in 1980, he had only a Master's Degree in Communication and a bogus PhD to his credit. He got a valid PhD degree from Amsterdam University only in 1984, one year after he was appointed Professor. It is to be presumed that Mr. Vilanilam had used the bogus PhD from Sussex College of Technology to manipulate a D.Litt. from Bhagalpur University.
The crux
Contrary to media reports, then and now, that the accusation was that Mr. J. V. Vilanilam became Vice Chancellor using a bogus PhD, the real issue, which was never addressed properly, was that Mr. J. V. Vilanilam submitted a bogus PhD degree he had purchased from London for 155 British pounds as a genuine academic PhD to clinch the post of Professor. Thereafter, he never mentioned the bogus PhD anywhere, but used the valid PhD, which he got from Amsterdam University in 1984, in all official documents since 1983, i.e., one year before he got it. Moreover, in his bio datahe had shown teaching experience in Journalism and Communication in the USA. The fact is that he did not have teaching experience in Journalism or Communication before joining the Department of Journalism, University of Kerala.

The issue, therefore, was not whether Mr. J. V. Vilanilam was qualified to become the Vice-Chancellor in 1992. The issue was whether he had submitted a bogus PhD along with his application for the post of Professor in 1983, a criminal act for which he should have been prosecuted. Moreover, his criminal act had disqualified him from holding any post in the University or public office.
Findings
The real issue was whether Mr. Vilanilam secured a university job with a bogus certificate. The issue was circumvented and it was reframed so as to ask whether he was qualified.

The normal procedure a university should follow when a person submits a bogus degree is to do a preliminary inquiry and initiate criminal proceedings against him, if there is meat in the matter. Instead, the Syndicate of Kerala University accepted Mr. J.V. Vilanilam’s argument that he did not buy the PhD but that it was conferred upon him, and resolved that there was nothing wrong with his appointment. There is no record in the university to show that the Syndicate cross-checked the veracity of Mr. J.V. Vilanilam’s claim with any academic institution in London. Besides shirking its responsibilities, the Syndicate decided on a criminal matter over which it had no jurisdiction.

The Kerala Government appointed a committee, headed by the then Chief Secretary Mr. M. S. K. Ramaswamy, with Mr. S. M. Vijayanand I.A.S. as Member Secretary. The Committee found that Mr. J.V. Vilanilam did submit the bogus PhD from Sussex College of Technology, but concluded that he was even otherwise qualified to become a Professor.

Kerala Public Men’s Corruption (Investigations and Inquiries) Commission, headed by Justice K.A. Nair, found the PhD of Mr. J.V. Vilanilam from Sussex College of Technology bogus. However, the Commission disposed of the complaint stating that though he had used the bogus PhD in his application for the post of Professor, the post of Professor did not come under the definition of ‘Public Men’, as defined in the Act, and hence, the issue was beyond the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Justice K. G. Balakrishnan of the Kerala High Court dismissed a Writ of Quo Warranto against Mr. J. V. Vilanilam stating that the writ had not questioned the authority of Vilanilam to hold the post of Vice-Chancellor (whereas a Writ of Quo Warranto, as per its very definition, “is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority she/he has for exercising some right, power, or franchise she/he claims to hold.”)

A division Bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Chief Justice Sujatha Manohar and Justice T.L. Viswanatha Iyer, admitted an appeal against the single Bench’s decision and issued notice to the parties. In his reply, Mr. J.V. Vilanilam did not question the authenticity of any of the 42 documents submitted by the plaintiff to prove that Mr. Vilanilam had used the bogus PhD and furnished false claims before the university on different occasions after he was appointed Professor. His only contention was that he did not buy the PhD, but that it was conferred on him, and that he was otherwise qualified to become the Vice-Chancellor. Normally, a person holding a public office demits his office when a Writ of Quo Warranto against him is admitted, though he is not legally obliged to do so. But Mr. J. V. Vilanilam did not resign. There were nine respondents in the case (the Governor, Chief Secretary, University of Kerala, Secretary, Higher Education, Government of Kerala, etc.), and on application from these respondents, the case was adjourned many times till Mr. J. V. Vilanilam retired in 1996, 24 months after the case was admitted. Post-retirement, the court closed the case as “infructuous.”
Conclusion
Mr. J. V. Vilanilam was thus disqualified to hold any post, and should have been prosecuted for committing criminal offences. The Government of Kerala should have initiated criminal proceedings against Mr. J. V. Vilanilam based on the findings of the Government Committee and the Public Men’s Corruption (Investigation and Inquiry Commission) because his very selection as Professor, Department of Communication &Journalism, University of Kerala, was void ab initio since he used a “bogus” and “spurious” PhD he had bought for a price, and presented it as a genuine academic degree. But the government did not do what was expected of a government bound by Rule of Law.

Meanwhile, a few leading newspapers, some social celebrities, and a section of the academic community did an exercise of Straw Man Fallacy by airing the argument that Mr. Vilanilam was otherwise qualified to become Vice-Chancellor; an argument that side-tracked the issue from the real issue. The real issue was whether a person who submitted a bogus degree, sold by a retired Air Force Corporal, for the post of Professor in a University, should not be brought before law, and whether he should be appointed in a public office.