HC asks SSUS why it persists with demand for apology from protesting students who were already under suspension
A Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan was considering a plea by 16 students who had been suspended from the university pending an enquiry into the protest in which they reportedly did a mock funeral of the V-C
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday asked the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, why it persisted with the demand for apology from students who were already under suspension for 60 days in connection with a protest they held against the university’s Vice-Chancellor (V-C).
A Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan was considering a plea by 16 students who had been suspended from the university pending an enquiry into the protest in which they reportedly did a mock funeral of the V-C. The protesting students also reportedly tried to manhandle the V-C.
It is not that the court is condoning what the students did. But they have been under suspension for the past 60 days and they were also prevented from writing their exams, the HC said, while telling the university to consider lifting the suspension order. The students contended that they held the mock funeral, to protest against dysfunctional lights on the university’s stage.
A week ago, a Division Bench of the High Court had observed that political activities like dharna, hunger strikes, and satyagraha had “no place in a constitutional democracy, much less in academic institutions”, as it quashed a Single Bench order that had permitted the 16 students to appear for semester examinations at the university. The court held that suspended students would have to suffer the consequences of a suspension, such as an attendance shortage. In the absence of statements from the students indicating that they were qualified to appear for the examinations, the Single Bench erred in granting permission, the Division Bench had held.
Denying the allegations, the students had claimed that their protest was to highlight their 18-point charter of demands, including the appointment of required faculty members and the implementation of basic facilities for students across various departments. The students had subsequently approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Division Bench order. The SC, however, urged the Single Bench of the HC to consider the matter.
- demand
- apology
- student
- suspension
- bench
- justice
- kunhikrishnan
- plea
