Moral Policing, Arbitrary & Non-Transparent Administrative Actions: HNLU Students Continue Protest

The Chhattisgarh High Court, on 27 August, in Dr. Avinash Samal v. State of Chhattisgarh, quashed the extension of tenure of Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof. (Dr) Sukhpal Singh. However, despite the order, the path has been testing for the students, to say the least.Scores of students camped overnight on campus in the open from 10:30 pm the same day, demanding that the judgment be “respected” and that Dr. Singh should not be allowed to continue as the VC.https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1036269496548446209According to reports, the students were initially informed that the VC was contending appealing against the order. The HNLU Student Body Association then strongly opposed the appeal, reiterating its demand for his resignation. The protest continued, with the students used the hashtag #HNLUKiAzaadi across social media platforms.It was only on the 3rd day of the protest that the Chancellor of the University appointed Mr. Ravi Shankar Sharma, the Principal Secretary, Government of Chhattisgarh, via notification as the interim Vice-Chancellor of the University. Mr. Sharma would be discharging his duties as the VC, in addition to his present responsibilities as the Principal Secretary, Law and Legislative Affairs Department, Government of Chhattisgarh.https://twitter.com/gautambhatia88/status/1036297575689641984Two rounds of discussions have since taken place between the student representatives and the VC—the former having placed a list of demands for enhanced transparency in the administration of the college.A misinterpreted flashlight marchA silent flashlight march was also organized throughout the campus on August 30th, which was day-5 of the protest. However, as per the statement, Mr. Sharma “exhibited hostility” towards the students and their demands during the second round of discussion, allegedly due to him being “misinformed” about the nature of the march.When enquired about the misunderstanding, students blamed it not just on innocent miscommunication, but also on adulterated information being passed on to him. According to a student, “It's nothing but the undemocratic practices adopted by the administration already in the past. It's an amalgamation of miscommunication, manipulation, and misinformation given in a platter to the VC. Since it's his own faculty, thus it is better acknowledged without a question in contrast.”Another student chimed in, explaining, “Yes, one can say that the adulterated information give by teachers is the answer but the other could be his inability to stop this protest which forced him to blame students and win in his own mind”Nevertheless, a delegation of student representatives was successful in later explaining and clarifying the nature and purpose of the march to him in his chamber, whereafter he changed his mind and assured another meeting on 5 September.Alleged penalization of female studentsStudents have also been protesting against the appointment of faculty members as wardens, which is an administrative position, claiming that this leads to arbitrariness and bias in their conduct towards them. Besides, they have specifically levelled allegations against the girls’ hostel warden, claiming that she has repeatedly indulged in moral policing. Speaking to LiveLaw, students recalled being told off for their clothes and conduct.A student told us, “I was caught drunk and she called my parents up and said that I wear ‘party clothes’ to class and that I hang out with the wrong sort of boys.”“We were threatened with a show cause notice if we entered campus at 12 am because the wardens were too scared to take responsibility for our safety. They were utterly apathetic to the fact that we had nowhere else to go and even went as far as suggesting that we rent a hotel room somewhere in the city instead of coming back to college,” another student recalled.The parents of a female student were called up and told that the college authorities had photos of their daughter going to places and wearing clothes that they wouldn't approve of. However, when asked for proof of such photos, they apparently had nothing to show.In another such incident, the parents of a student, who was clinically depressed, urged the hostel authorities to allot her a room closer to her friends. The parents were however told that their daughter did not have a grip on the issues and problems that actually plague the world.All such instances have naturally culminated in the students joining forces to vehemently protest the treatment meted out to them by college authorities.Statement of solidarity issued by students of NALSAR, NLSIU, NUJS, NLUD, NLUJ and NLIUMeanwhile, a statement of solidarity has been issued by the students of NALSAR, NLSIU, NUJS, NLU-D, NLU-J and NLIU, extending their support to the students of HNLU as well as all other NLUs confronting similar administrative issues.Further, the student bodies of NLSIU, NALSAR and NUJS also recalled and...

Moral Policing, Arbitrary & Non-Transparent Administrative Actions: HNLU Students Continue Protest

Apoorva Mandhani

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