NEW DELHI: A petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking separate vegetarian food facilities in hostel messes and college canteens across the University of Delhi.
Besides separate food preparation, the plea has also sought segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food storage and serving areas in hostels and colleges. The petition, likely to come up for hearing in the coming days, alleged violation of food safety norms, hygiene standards, and constitutional rights.
Filed by Vijeta, a DU student and resident of a women’s hostel, the petition claimed she was “directly and substantially” affected by the issue. She alleged that the lack of segregation caused her “grave prejudice”, inconvenience, and infringement of her “legitimate expectations” and rights.
The plea, filed through advocate Barun Kumar Sinha on Wednesday, urged the court to direct authorities to establish “separate and hygienic vegetarian mess facilities at an appropriate distance from mixed mess systems”, ensure compliance with statutory food safety and hygiene standards, and frame a transparent policy for students with strict vegetarian dietary requirements.
It also sought adjustment of mess charges and constitution of a grievance redressal mechanism for timely resolution of complaints related to mess and canteen services. The petitioner said she approached the court after authorities allegedly failed to act on repeated representations regarding the issue.
According to plea, the absence of “hygienic, pure vegetarian food” at a reasonably proximate distance within the hostel mess prevented her from availing complete meals there. Despite repeated requests to hostel staff and officials for remedial measures, no effective response was received, she claimed.
