Chennai: The Hostel Disciplinary Committee (HDC) of IIT Madras has slapped a fine of Rs 20,000 on a student with a claustrophobic condition for sleeping on the sofa. The MS scholar who has fear of confined places was also made to shift her hostel for the offence.
According to the students in the hostel, the issue began when 139 female residents of Sabarmati hostel in IIT Madras had signed a memorandum for a General Body Meeting to impeach the then general secretary (Swathi R) of the hostel according to the constitution of IIT Madras and its hostel management rules. They demanded to convene the meeting as they did not have a water dispenser, a fridge and only 3 washing machines were working at Sabarmati hostel.
“A group of 10 girls went to meet the dean of students (Professor Sivakumar), IIT Madras regarding the hostel issues on September 26, 2017. Instead of solving the issue, the dean had asked for my guide’s name and he asked him not to allow me to involve in any hostel matters,” a PhD scholar and a resident of Sabarmati hostel told this paper.
“Following our meeting with the dean of students, the administration has called two girls who were part of that group - one MS scholar and a PhD scholar - to the Hostel Disciplinary Committee (HDC) meeting on September 28,” she added.
Students alleged that the authorities did not issue any prior warning before calling the students for the HDC meeting, which is against the rules. The hostel disciplinary committee has informed the student and the wardens through a mail that the M.S. scholar found in violation of sleeping on the couch in the lobby for a long period and created a nuisance.
As per the decision taken by the committee, the student was asked to submit an apology letter. With a severe reprimand, she was asked to immediately shift to Sarayu hostel inside the campus. She was also warned not to repeat the behaviour and a penalty of '20,000 was levied on her. Another research scholar, who was part of the impeachment process, was also fined by '10,000 for the same offence. “As an outcome of depression, she had the fear of sleeping alone in one room. Is it how the management treats a student with depression?” another student asked. IIT Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “Students are supposed to sleep in their own rooms. They are not allowed to sleep in the commonplace for their own safety issues.” He further said he is not aware of the details of this issue or the fine structure. “If a student is a claustrophobic then she could have sought the medical help. After getting the medical advice, we would have allotted her a double room,” he explained.
