Lock all college, univ union rooms: Cal HC to state
Times of India | 4 July 2025
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed Bengal govt to put under lock and key union rooms of all state colleges and universities. The HC also asked the state to pass an order so that no student is permitted to enter the union room without the written permission of the registrar or another competent person. The union room of the south Kolkata college where a student was raped on June 25, however, would only be accessible to the investigating agency until further order, the HC said.
The division bench of justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De was hearing a PIL on the ‘illegal' usage of union rooms in the absence of student bodies. The last union election in majority of state colleges was in 2017, while in Presidency University and Jadavpur University, it was in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
"The purpose for the visit by the student to such a room identified for the students' union should be disclosed in the letter. However, this (order) shall not include recreational or common rooms. It shall be restricted to the room/rooms identified and used as the students' union room," the HC held.
After the order, some Kolkata colleges scrambled to lock their union rooms.
The PIL, filed by advocate Sayan Banerjee after the rape of the law student, had questioned the "illegal and unauthorised functioning of the student union offices across state govt colleges.
" The student was allegedly raped in the college security guard room, beside the union room.
Banerjee had also filed a separate PIL on the state not conducting student union elections. The second PIL was also heard by the division bench on Thursday, with the judges making a verbal remark on the need for a timeline from the state as to when it intended to hold union elections. The state has been asked to file a comprehensive report by July 16.
It was highlighted in court that even without student unions, various activities in unions' name were being carried out. "Throughout the state of Bengal, all student unions are in a defunct condition. Yet, somehow, through an unknown process, they have managed to reopen student union offices and are running them successfully," the petitioner stated.