NEW DELHI: A writ petition has been filed at Delhi High Court by members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU), challenging the varsity for changes in the hostel manual including fee hike.
The plea demanded the Inter Hostel Administration (IHA) decision dated October 28, amending the Hostel Manual; the Minutes of the 283rd Meeting of the Executive Council (EC) dated November 13; ratifying the IHA decision and the high-level committee dated November 25, maybe set aside and a fresh IHA as per law may be reconvened.
It said the decisions were “mala fide, arbitrary and illegal” and would “adversely affect the student community”. “That amendments to the Hostel Manual include an increase in hostel fee, affect rights of those in reserved categories vis a vis allocation of hostel rooms and also reduce the representation of the JNUSU in the IHA amongst several other changes,” the plea said.
“That the minutes of the impugned IHA meeting also stated that mess services, sanitation services, room charges, amongst other categories of charges will be increased by 10 per cent every academic year,” it added.
Through the plea, the union complained that the IHA meeting was held with no student representation, defeating the mandate of the Hostel Manual. The plea said that the introduction of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category was irrational as it failed to explain how it was being made applicable to the students. It added that in the ‘Meritcum- Means Scholarships’, its financial category was laid down as applicable to students whose income did not exceed `2,50,000. “That student who fall under the category of merit cum means scholarship benefited from a reduced rate in terms of Hostel room rent,” the plea stated.
RTI debunks vandalism claims
An RTI reply said that biometric systems and CCTVs were not vandalised in JNU’s server room, contrary to the claims made by the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration that students had destroyed them. This was said in a reply by the university to an RTI filed by Saurav Das.