Court dismisses PU’s plea seeking ban on student protests on campus
The move was made after students had blocked PU’s gate number 2 for around five hours, demanding the varsity to repeal an FIR registered against 14 protesters during PU elections held in September this year
A local court disposed of the application filed by Panjab University (PU), seeking permanent injunction for restraining students from holding demonstrations with directions that there should be no breach of peace.
While disposing of the application, the court held that students are entitled to continue with their demonstration as the same is being carried out to safeguard their interest. “However, while carrying out the said demonstration/protest, there should be no breach of peace at the spot and also should not involve any kind of violence or any other illegal activities which may amount to any offence. Further, while carrying out the said demonstration, they shall not restrain any passage/road which leads to the offices as mentioned above, thereby causing any kind of inconvenience to the visitors, students, teaching and non-teaching staff or others who are ought to visit university they shall not block the any of the main gate of the Panjab University which is only way of egress or ingress of students, visitors, teaching and non-teaching staff and shall in any way not cause any inconvenience to any officials,” the court observed.
The court further added that demonstration by students shall not be held outside any of the residential area of any of the official of the varsity as the same is not required in any way.
In a petition filed through its counsel Karanveer Ahuja, the varsity had sought a permanent injunction on students holding protests on its campus.
The move was made after students had blocked PU’s gate number 2 for around five hours, demanding the varsity to repeal an FIR registered against 14 protesters during PU elections held in September this year.
As per the petition filed by PU registrar YP Verma, six defendants were named in the case, including Sath party, Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), Students Organisation of India (SOI), All India Students Association (AISA), Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) and PSU Lalkaar.
The varsity asked for a permanent injunction against the defendants from holding any demonstration or raising slogans within 500 metres from the boundary walls of the vice-chancellor’s (V-C’s) office, the administrative block and the residences of officials, including V-C and registrar. PU is also against blocking roads, obstructing people from visiting V-C office and causing damage to public property.
The varsity had also asked court to permanently restrain student bodies from pasting stickers, banners, posters or erecting any tents on the campus, except for the protest site earmarked near the PU Health Centre. The university has maintained that all protests must only be carried out at the designated site.
