Students yet to register for new academic year, may do so under older hostel rates: Delhi HC to JNU students

The Delhi High Court on Friday said that the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, who have not yet registered for the new academic year, may do so under the old hostel manual as it sought response of the University on the plea of JNU Students Union challenging the decision to amend the hostel manual.

A bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher also issued notices to MHRD and UGC which were impleaded in the matter. The plea, filed by JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh and other office bearers Saket Moon, Satish Chandra Yadav and Md Danish, challenged the minutes of the Inter Hostel Administration issued on October 28, last year, the jurisdiction of the High-Level Committee constituted on November 24 and recommendations made by it.

The JNUSU, in a statement, said that they are grateful to the High Court for granting this relief. "We wish to appeal to the student community to take registration at the old rates within the next week. We also wish to inform the administration that we have always been open for dialogue," it further read and added that the protests against the "regressive" hostel manual and the October 28 IHA meeting will continue.

The petition had sought directions to quash the Draft Hostel Manual "illegally approved by the IHA as the decisions taken by the IHA are malafide, arbitrary and illegal and adversely affect the students". It claimed the decisions to bring about amendments in the hostel manual are contrary to provisions of the JNU Act, 1966, Statutes, Ordinances and the Hostel Manual.