Thiruvananthapuram | University of Kerala has denied permission for a performance by Bollywood actor Sunny Leone at its engineering campus.

As part of the tech fest, the students union had planned a programme by Leone on July 5.

The university Vice-Chancellor, Mohanan Kunnummal said permission was denied as there was an existing directive from the Higher Education Department banning the performance of "outside bands" on the campuses.

"After the recent stampede incident at CUSAT campus, there is an existing direction banning performances by outside band on the campuses," Kunnummal told PTI.

The Vice-Chancellor said he learned about the event after seeing a poster for it.

"There is also a regulation that money should not be collected from outside for functions inside the campuses. On this particular campus, there are only around 300 students, and for a Bollywood celebrity, an exorbitant amount needs to be collected," he added.

As the campus comes under Kerala University, permission for such events needs to come from the Registrar of the university, which was not sought, sources said.