JNU Revokes Compulsory Direction For Use Of Aarogya Setu App By Students and Staff
The Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), New Delhi, has revoked the mandatory direction that that students and staff should install Aarogya Setu app.A modified order issued by the JNU Registrar said that the installation of the app is advisable. It was on October 21 that the JNU administration issued the direction making the use of Aarogya Setu mandatory.Now, the Registrar has issued a...
The Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), New Delhi, has revoked the mandatory direction that that students and staff should install Aarogya Setu app.
A modified order issued by the JNU Registrar said that the installation of the app is advisable.
It was on October 21 that the JNU administration issued the direction making the use of Aarogya Setu mandatory.
Now, the Registrar has issued a corrigendum to effectively withdraw the mandatory condition for use of Aarogya Setu.
It is pertinent to recall that the Central Government has submitted before the High Court of Karnataka that installation of Aarogya Setu app is not a mandatory condition for availing travel by air or rail.
Meanwhile, the Students Federation of India(SFI) was in the process of preparing and filing a petition, through Advocates Rajesh Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, in the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of the Registrar of the Jawaharlal Nehru University to make the use of Aarogya Setu app mandatory inside the campus.
Seeking the writ of Certiorari against the notification dated 20/10/20, the SFI argued that Aarogya Setu app is prone to hacking and meant merely for intensive surveillance and collecting data.
It was also contended that the requirement of using Aarogya Setu app is not backed by law, and it unfairly restricts the right of students to move freely inside the campus.
'JNU is an academic body of the Central Government established for the imparting of education and has been vested with all powers for the said purpose under the 1966 Act. The Respondent No. 3 (JNU) or the Registrar, JNU (Respondent No. 4), by no stretch of the legislative outreach, have been vested with the power under the 1966 Act, to mandate the usage of the 'Aarogya Setu' App. Thus, the action of the
Respondent No.4 in mandating the said App is arbitrary and ultra vires the 1966 Act', tated the petition drafted by Chintan Nirala, Advocate.