High Court Seeks Delhi University’s Reply On Congress Student Leader’s Plea Against Debarment Over Screening Of BBC Documentary On PM Modi

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought response of the Delhi University on a plea moved by PhD Scholar and National Secretary of National Students’ Union of India Lokesh Chugh against his debarment by the varsity for a year over his alleged involvement in the screening of a recent BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav granted three days’ time to the varsity to file a counter affidavit and listed the matter for hearing on April 24. The court also granted liberty to Chugh to file his rejoinder.

Chugh has challenged the memorandum passed by the office of varsity’s Registrar on March 10 debarring him from taking the examinations for a period of one year.

He has also challenged the show cause notice issued by office of the Proctor on February 16 which held that he was involved in disturbance of law and order in the university during the screening of the documentary.

The plea also seeks a direction to permit Chugh to undertake the examinations.

During the hearing, the court orally said that the impugned order does not reflect the application of mind by the University.

“….there has to be independent application of mind by the University. It is not reflected in the order,” Justice Kaurav told the varsity’s counsel.

He added: “You are a statutory body. You are a University... the impugned order does not show the application of mind. It must have reflected why you are coming to the conclusion. You file your counter because you seek to rely on certain material. That material must be supplied to the petitioner.”

Advocates Naman Joshi and Ritika Vohra, who represent Chugh, in the plea have submitted that he was neither detained nor charged with any form of incitement or violence or disturbance of peace by the police.

“At the relevant time, the Petitioner was not present at the protest site, neither had facilitated/participated in the screening in any manner,” the plea states.

It has been submitted that the memorandum is liable to be set aside for absence of finding on any specific ground of indiscipline as well as for non – application of mind.

The plea adds that Chugh had not been afforded any opportunity to explain his conduct to the Disciplinary Committee and therefore, any order or finding against him is in utter disregard of the rules of natural justice.

“It is humbly submitted that the Petitioner was not informed about the charges/findings against him by the Disciplinary Authority. It is also relevant to note that the Impugned Memorandum is silent as to how the Petitioner was involved in incident dated 27.01.2023. The Impugned Memorandum only makes a passing reference to Petitioner’s alleged involvement in screening of BBC Documentary,” it states.

It is also Chugh’s case that the authorities of the University have resorted to a “disproportionate action” against him by debarring him for one year even when he was never provided with an opportunity to put forth his case before the Disciplinary Committee or to examine the material placed before it.

Title: LOKESH CHUGH v. UNIVERSITY OF DELHI & ORS.