The Delhi High Court quashed the expulsion orders of Apoorva YK, a final-year Masters of Law (LLM) student of the South Asian University (SAU) in New Delhi yesterday, January 18; bringing her much-needed relief.
The judgement was a response to a writ petition submitted by Apoorva, challenging her expulsion orders by the university, as well as a counter-writ petition filed by SAU challenging the maintainability of her plea on grounds that SAU is insulated from legal proceedings in India under Section 29 of the South Asian University Act, 2008.
Apoorva was among the students who received expulsion orders for protesting against many of the varsity’s “autocratic” actions, particularly its expulsion and alleged institutional harassment of Ammar Ahmad, a second-year Masters of Arts (MA) student at the Sociology Department of SAU.
To refresh memory, Ammar was expelled by the university on November 4, 2022, after he and other masters' students objected to the administration’s decision to reduce the MA scholarship amount from Rs 5,000 to Rs 4,000 per month, and demanded that it be hiked to Rs 7,000.
Following the expulsion, Ammar’s physical and mental health took a toll – and he had two heart attacks, one of which led to his left side being paralysed. This triggered more protests from the students, which were met with show-cause notices and expulsion orders on them.
Reacting to yesterday’s judgement, Apoorva says, “My legal counsel and I expected a favourable judgement. However, the sensitivity shown by the Judge towards everything that has been happening at SAU with us was a pleasant and affirming surprise.”
Apoorva’s expulsion
On November 23, 2022, following Ammar’s paralysing second seizure, about 100 students, including Apoorva, gheraoed the office of the registrar, demanding that SAU cover Ammar's medical expenditure, as his family could not afford it.
Apoorva, along with others in the protest, received a show-cause notice on November 26, accusing her of acts of indiscipline. In the show-cause notice, few of the allegations of the varsity administration were:
Entered the office of Associate Dean of Students without his permission and persistently demanded a complete revocation of the disciplinary action against certain students, “ in a threatening language”,
Entered a classroom without permission and addressed the students using foul language and four-letter words, and
Forcefully entered and paralysed the office of the acting registrar while he was in a meeting with other SAU officials, and held him captive for “several hours to again force him to do what he was not bound to do”
In her response to the notice, Apoorva denied the charges and explained that the protesting students visited the registrar’s office not to intimidate him or hold him captive – but rather, to discuss the case of Ammar and other issues of the students.
Ultimately, she was expelled from the university on February 17, 2023.
The judgement
In a 58-page judgement, Justice C Hari Shankar termed the procedure adopted by SAU’s administration as a “sham”, with a “predetermined intent to expel the petitioners from the University environs.”
The judgement dismantled SAU’s objections about the maintainability of Apoorva’s plea under Article 226 of the Constitution, which gives the Delhi High Court powers to exercise jurisdiction in the territory of Delhi.
It states while Section 29 of the SAU Act protects the SAU from “legal proceedings only in respect of acts done in good faith” how the varsity expelled Apoorva cannot be regarded as "partaking of good faith as understood in law.”
Further, the judgement also notes that the SAU imparts a public function, that is, education within the territories of its jurisdiction, which renders it “amenable to Article 226 of the Constitution of India.”
Moreover, as Apoorva’s expulsion hinders her education and career, she can be seen as issuing a Writ of Mandamus to SAU to continue to educate her.
“The mandamus is, therefore, being sought to enforce performance, by the University, of the public function which it discharges,” the judgement declared.
Justice C Hari Shankar also heavily criticised the University for how it proceeded to impart disciplinary action to Apoorva.
He notes, in the judgement, how counter-petition filed by SAU admits that the High Powered Committee (HPC) that was formed to examine her responses to the show cause notice issued to her, did not place the “conclusive evidence” it found against Apoorva in front of her.
Further, he also points to how she was not given an avenue to rebuke the evidence against her, as the statements recorded were only from witnesses that supported the charges of the complainant, that is, the university. The judgement also points to how these statements were recorded “behind the back of the petitioner, on a day when she was not called for hearing”, making the exercise “chimerical in character, with the clear intention, already formulated, to send the petitioner out”.
It was also pointed out that Apoorva was only merely informed of the allegations against her, and then expelled without any further notice. Earlier in the judgement, it was also noted that Apoorva welcomed the disciplinary inquiry against her in the hopes that “the principles of natural justice and due process be followed”
“The manner in which the entire exercise was conducted cannot even be elevated to the status of lip service to the principles of natural justice,” the judgement thus declares, adding that an exercise like this cannot be tolerated in the eyes of law. Apoorva’s expulsion is liable to be set aside on these grounds, the judgement observes.
Relief after over a year’s ordeal
This judgement, Apoorva says, not only comes as a relief to her but also gives hope to other students expelled and rusticated by SAU.
“This sets an important precedent in the matter. Till now, the university was under the impression that it cannot be touched by Indian law, and has been acting in an autocratic manner in that belief,” she said.
“Ever since we protested against Ammar’s institutional harassment, we are being singled out and punished by the administration. We were even being demonised through false charges on us. In my case, it was the allegation that I swore at and used foul language with the faculty members. This allegation was made just to prevent people from sympathising with me and supporting me,” Apoorva recalls.
She further alleges that during the HPC hearing, a male committee member aggressively demanded her to admit to using bad language. “The committee member was banging at the table and yelling at me repeatedly, despite denying the charge multiple times. There was another female member in the panel, but she did not stop or object to this aggression,” she adds.
Apoorva recounts that the expulsion has taken a toll on both her physical and mental health. “I felt very lonely and helpless during this time and had to take psychological assistance and medication for my depression. My underlying health conditions also flared up during this time,” she laments.
Following her expulsion, Apoorva started a protest against the decision by setting up a tent outside the university campus. During this time, EdexLive reported that she was not allowed to use the university’s toilets, prompting her to decrease her consumption of food and water.
This made her Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder and Crohn's Disease worse than ever, and she had to be hospitalised.
“If it wasn’t for the support of my parents, my friends – Snigdha, Sandra, Yashada, Procheta, Nishita and Umesh – and Sidhanta Borkataky, my therapist, I don’t know how I would have been able to carry on and fight,” she admits.
Most of these students, such as Umesh and Procheta, have also received expulsion notices from SAU.
“Given the level of sensitivity and understanding that was shown in the judgement, we are hopeful that the cases of Ammar and other students expelled by SAU would also receive favourable verdicts,” Apoorva says.
EdexLive has reached out to the administration of the South Asian University for a comment on the matter. The copy will be updated with their response, as and when we receive it.
