In a 10 October 2000 letter to the vice chancellor of the University of Calicut, K.K.N. Kurup, IPI condemned the decision of the University of Calicut to effectively ban the daily newspaper "Malayala Manorama" from the university campus.
According to the information provided to IPI, on 5 October, the joint registrar in charge of the registrar issued Order No. Ad. A4/12176/2000, which cancelled the university's subscription to the "Malayala Manorama" and directed the university press officer not to send press releases to the newspaper's offices.
Such a ban will prevent the newspaper from reporting on all activities at the university, including exam results and sports events. A copy of the order was also sent to the security officer and it is believed that the university authorities may try to prevent the newspaper's reporters and sales agents from distributing the "Malayala Manorama" on the campus.
The reason for the action would appear to lie in a series of recent articles published by the "Malayala Manorama" which expose corruption at the university and highlight alleged misdeeds by Kurup, acting in the capacity of vice chancellor. The text of the order states that "as the Malayala Manorama daily is seen taking an unfavourable attitude in publishing news relating to the University, it has been decided not to subscribe [to] the daily".
