Suspended a month ago for ‘Ram Mandir discussion’, two Jindal university students move court
The matter is listed for March 21 in the HC.
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Following the action taken against them, the students wrote to the varsity on February 21 appealing against the decision made by the University Student Disciplinary Committee (USDC) to suspend them until August 1. (File Photo)Over a month after they were suspended for a semester and evicted from campus housing for allegedly putting up posters and engaging in a panel discussion regarding the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, two students of O P Jindal University have turned to the Punjab and Haryana High Court for justice.
In their petition filed against the varsity and its Vice-Chancellor on Monday, the students sought that the show-cause and suspension notices they received in February be quashed on account of “the fact that (it) has been issued without following due process as prescribed in the policy book of the university and the OP Jindal student code of conduct…”
The matter is listed for March 21 in the HC.
The petition further stated to direct the University “to remove/rectify any record on the file of the petitioners (two students) with respect to the show-cause notice… and suspension notice”
Following the action taken against them, the students wrote to the varsity on February 21 appealing against the decision made by the University Student Disciplinary Committee (USDC) to suspend them until August 1.
The students’ appeal read, “We contend that the decision to suspend us for an entire semester was made by the USDC without following the principles of natural justice, as a fair opportunity for a hearing was not provided to us. In fact, the entire process of the disciplinary proceedings initiated against us lacked any due process and, hence, stands against the principles of natural justice.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, one of the students said, “It has been almost a month since we’ve written our appeal against the show-cause notices… We have not heard anything back from them, which is why we decided to take this matter up in court.”
The Indian Express reached out to the Communications officer at the varsity but received no response on this matter. Varsity officials had earlier called their action “a serious violation of the student code of conduct”. The public discussion was organised on February 7 by the Revolutionary Student League. A poster read: “Ram Mandir: A farcical project of Brahmanical Hindutva Fascism”.
Hours after they were suspended, the two students alleged that they were “manhandled” and asked to “vacate their hostels in the middle of the night” on February 10. A purported video shows one of the students being evicted from the hostel and dragged out by security staff.
When The Indian Express had reached out to university officials for comment post the incident, it had said: “In the very first instance, parents and local guardians were informed and apprised of the process. Once disciplinary action has been initiated, it is mandatory to vacate the hostel for the duration of the suspension… As India’s leading private university with an international reputation, all processes are followed diligently in a systematic and professional manner. We don’t have any response to arbitrary comment.”
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