Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday barred inviting any political personality to any event or seminar at Kolkata’s iconic Jadavpur University.
The division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chattopadhyay also directed the Jadavpur University authorities to submit, withing the next three weeks, an affidavit on the existing state of security arrangements within the campus.
It also advised the university authorities to ensure that only seminars or events related to academics are conducted within the campus to prevent the invitation of political personalities to such events.
Amid the tension and ruckus within the university campus earlier this month in the presence of West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu, a public interest litigation was filed at the Calcutta High Court alleging the absence of adequate security arrangements within the university campus.
The matter came up for hearing at the division bench on Thursday and after the hearing, the latter gave the following directions to the university authorities.
During the hearing, the division bench had also questioned why the Jadavpur University authorities had been reluctant to seek help of the police despite there being ruckus and tension within the campus in the past.
It also observed that the university authorities should give specific answers to this point raised on the day of the next hearing.
On March 1, a ruckus broke out within the Jadavpur University campus when Education Minister Basu’s car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed.
The students were demanding immediate elections for the university’s students’ council.
The protesting students alleged that while Basu decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests, his vehicle deliberately hit two agitating students, following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalised.
Amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell ill. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital and was discharged later.
(IANS)
