FIR against JNU students for unfair restraint, Delhi High Court asks them not to obstruct staff

The Delhi Police, on Friday, registered two FIRs against the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after the students took the staff as hostages and gheraoed the administration block over the compulsory attendance row.

Angry over not being able to meet the Vice-Chancellor to discuss the attendance issue, some students on Thursday morning gheraoed the administration block of the university, and at midnight, took two senior officials of the university as hostages, along with the other staff.

A police official said, “Based on two separate complaints filed by the officials, two FIRs have been registered with the Vasant Kunj North Police Station.”

An additional FIR has been filed against students who blocked the road near the administration block, demanding the withdrawal of the ruling of compulsory attendance by the university.

The students, on Friday, moved the case to the Delhi High Court, which asked them to not ‘obstruct’ the Vice Chancellor or the staff from entering the premises of the administrative block.

Justice VK Rao said the interim order will be in force for the next three days, starting on Saturday. However, the judge added that the university ‘should not preclude’ the students from protesting peacefully at the Sabarmati lawn, which is an alternative area of protest.

Also Read: JNU professors held hostage by students over attendance row

The court also issued notices to the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) on the university’s plea and sought their response by February 20. The pleas of the university claimed that the students violated the High Court’s 2017 order, which restricted the protests within 100 meters of the administrative block.

JNUSU president Geeta Kumari stated that the strike would continue, but a council meeting would be held to determine the future course of action. She said, “We did not gherao the administrators on Thursday or prevent any administrative official from leaving the admin block. Students only gathered peacefully, demanding that the V-C meet them and address their concerns instead of ‘shooting’ arbitrary rules and disciplinary notices at them. The protest was called after the JNU V-C arbitrarily called off a scheduled meeting of the Academic Council. No attempt was made to stop the Rector, or any other administrators or teachers, from coming and going in and out.”

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) had a general body meeting on Friday in which it passed a resolution to withdraw the 75 per cent attendance norm and asked the Vice Chancellor to convene the AC meeting, stating that they will protest, too, if their demands are not met.