A leaked draft code of conduct at the University of Kerala has set off a political storm by proposing to outlaw organised political activity on its campuses and affiliated colleges. The document, titled the Kerala University (Students’ Code of Conduct) Regulations, 2026, was prepared as part of the university’s response to the Kerala High Court, which is hearing a plea to prohibit campus politics statewide. Under the draft, students promoting a party’s agenda, showing allegiance to a political group, or organising rallies and drives inside the university could face disciplinary action. It would also cover digital mobilisation and off-campus collective action aimed at influencing university affairs.
Classroom debates and faculty-supervised academic discussions of political subjects would remain permitted. Higher Education Minister Roji M John moved quickly to disown the document, calling it an unapproved administrative draft and insisting the UDF government will not curb student political participation. He said the text drew on 2005 guidelines of Mahatma Gandhi University, which ban politics on paper but have never stopped it in practice. Syndicate members from the Congress, CPI(M) and BJP camps have all said the draft has not been vetted by any university body.
Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan condemned it, saying the university fears a generation that asks questions. The SFI, which leads unions at 64 of the university’s 75 campuses, alleges the proposal is aimed squarely at it and has threatened protests. The High Court’s direction to regulate campus politics dates back to February and follows the 2018 killing of student Abhimanyu at Maharaja’s College in Ernakulam. Any final rules must still pass a subcommittee, a standing committee and the Syndicate before being notified.