JNUSU to move Delhi High Court on Monday over hostel manual, fee hike

New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union on Sunday said it will approach the Delhi High Court on January 20 seeking a direction for quashing the new hostel manual which has provisions for fee hike

In a statement, the students’ body said they will be filing the plea on Monday against the Inter-Hall Administration manual which, it claimed, was passed “illegally” in October without taking the feedback of the Union.

The JNUSU, which has been on a strike on the issue for close to three months, urged the students to continue the boycott of registration and all academic activities.

Early this month, the university had witnessed tussle between student groups over the issue of registration. Amid the stir, masked men had gone on a rampage on January 5 in the campus assaulting students and teachers and storming hostels, drawing widespread outrage.

The students and the teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) boycotted classes on January 13 amid a standoff with the administration over the fee hike issue.

The classes were supposed to begin that day but could not start due to the collective boycott.

Prashant Kumar, a PhD student at the varsity, said the masters and graduation students have decided to boycott classes.

“The vice-chancellor has written to various centres to frame the timetable but there has been no development. The classes did not start today but might begin in a day or two,” Kumar said.

A student from the university’s social science school, who did not wish to be named, said, “We first want the issues to be sorted; only then can we focus on our studies. Just to start a fresh beginning, we cannot forget the past.”

The students’ union had earlier said it would ensure registration by paying only the tuition fees and not the increased hostel charges but kept the decision on hold after it found that the administration had blocked the registration portal for many students.

The teachers’ association has also given a call for ‘non-cooperation’ in academic matters over a range of issues, including that of fee hike and the 5 January violence.

Teachers and students have been demanding the sacking of Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar.