Jadavpur University violence: PIL in the high court, clubbed with campus poll case
Telegraph | 5 March 2025
The high court has clubbed a PIL on Saturday’s violence at Jadavpur University with an ongoing case demanding students’ union elections in colleges and universities, stalled for at least five years.
Saturday’s violence at JU left education minister Bratya Basu injured. Basu had come to JU to attend an event conducted by a Trinamool-backed teachers’ body when he students barricaded him, asking for campus elections. As his car drove off, a student fell on the metalled driveway. He is now in hospital with several injuries.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice T. S. Sivagnanam is scheduled to hear the students’ union elections case on Thursday. The bench had earlier clubbed a batch of petitions on student elections.
“We want to file a PIL in connection with Jadavpur University. We want it heard along with the ongoing case,” Arka Das, a lawyer for the petitioners who want the resumption of students’ union elections, told the bench on Monday.
“Let the matter come up for hearing on Thursday. We will listen to what you have to say,” the chief justice said.
At least two more PILs on JU came to the court on Monday.
One filed by lawyer Subham Das has sought a security beef-up on the JU campus. The petitioner has demanded students’ security, police outposts on the campus and the deployment of armed police or central force personnel there.
The division bench headed by the chief justice gave Das permission to file the PIL. However, the chief justice said in open court “I am not the administrator of the university”.
Advocate Shamim Ahmed on Monday appealed to Justice Tirthankar Ghosh to allow him to file a case of “police inaction” in connection with Saturday’s violence. “The police refused to draw up FIRs based on students’ complaints,” Ahmed said. The judge allowed him to file the case in the appropriate section of the court.
“The process of filing the case is on. It is likely to be heard on Tuesday,” a court official said.