The most recent guidelines for students have been released by Jawaharlal Nehru University. According to the updated regulations, students may be subject to a penalty of up to Rs 20,000 and even have their admission revoked if they hold dharnas. In addition, those who resort to violence on campus may be fined up to Rs 30,000. Students who engage in physical violence, verbal abuse, or manhandling of other students, faculty members, or staff may be fined Rs 50,000, states a report by PTI.
The students and teachers have expressed their disapproval of the new regulations, which they have deemed "draconian". The JNU Students Union has organized a meeting for all student organisations to discuss the university's recent guidelines. The "Rules of Discipline and Proper Conduct of Students of JNU", a ten-page rule book issued by the university, outlines penalties for various acts such as protests and forgery, as well as procedures for proctorial inquiries and statement recording, as per the report.
According to the document, the penalty for violating the regulations can range from a fine of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000, rustication, or cancellation of admission. The new rules were implemented on February 3 following numerous protests against the showing of a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Executive Council, the university's highest decision-making body, approved the rules, according to the document.
The members of the council stated that the document was prepared for "court matters" and that there was no proper discussion over the issue. Vikas Patel, the JNU secretary for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, criticised the new regulations as "authoritarian" and called for their repeal, arguing that the previous code of conduct was sufficient. The Vice Chancellor of JNU, Santishree D Pandit, did not respond to requests for comment. The rules apply to all university students, including part-time students, who were admitted before or after the implementation of the rules. The document lists punishments for 17 "crimes", including blockage, gambling, occupying hostel rooms without permission, using abusive or derogatory language, and forging documents. Copies of complaints will be sent to parents, according to the regulations.
The Grievance Redressal Committee of the university, school, and centre levels may handle cases involving both teachers and students. However, cases related to sexual abuse, eve-teasing, ragging, and arousing communal disharmony fall under the jurisdiction of the chief proctor's office.
Chief Proctor Rajnish Mishra told PTI, "There were rules mentioned in the statute. However, the new rules have been formulated after a proctorial enquiry." He did not reveal when this proctorial enquiry started and when asked whether old rules have been modified, he replied in affirmation.
It has suggested penalties for all acts of coercion and violence, including gheraos, sit-ins, and other variations that interfere with regular academic and administrative operations and/or any act that incites or encourages violence. The punishments include, "cancellation of admission or withdrawal of degree or denial of registration for a specified period, rustication up to four semesters and/or declaring any part or the entire JNU campus out of bounds, expulsion, a fine of up to Rs 30,000 as per the old rules, One/two semesters of eviction from the hostel," stated the PTI report.
"Subsequently, either a one/two/three member(s) proctorial enquiry committee to conduct an in-depth investigation into the matter. Proctorial enquiry is an internal enquiry of JNU and hence, no other person except the Board members is allowed to be present during hearings. The accused or complainants are not allowed to be represented by a third party. Similarly, he/she cannot have an observer during the process of enquiry," the document read.
An Executive Council member, who does not wish to be named, said the matter was not discussed at length in the EC meeting and, "we were told that the rules have been created for court matters".
Another Executive Council member Brahma Prakash Singh said, "The university might have planned to streamline the process and prepare a full document but it should have been discussed in the EC meeting properly. Some of the rules are absurd." The ABVP's JNU secretary Patel said, "There is no need for this new authoritarian ('tuglaki') code of conduct. The old code of conduct was sufficiently effective. Instead of focusing on the improvement of safety security and order, the JNU admin has imposed this draconian code of conduct, without any discussion with the stakeholders, especially the student community. We demand its rollback,” stated the PTI report.
