'Clear blockade immediately': JNU administration warns students
New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration has issued a notice to students union president Aishe Ghosh and two others asking them to immediately clear the blockade on a road inside the university's North Gate, failing which "strict action" will be taken against them.
The JNU students union has been on an indefinite sit-in at the university's gate since October 17, demanding time extension to research scholars for submission and a provision to conduct the end-semester examination for graduate and post-graduate students who couldn't attend their last semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.
The notice alleged that the "illegal occupation" of the space, the main road meant for vehicular and human movement, has been causing grave inconvenience to the residents, visitors, and other commuters of the university.
Ghosh said that the JNUSU will "continue its protest and intensify its struggle".
She also slammed the JNU administration for serving the notice to JNUSU member Mohammed Danish who has been hospitalized after suffering from dengue.
"The office of the Chief Proctor has taken cognizance of the illegal occupation of the road immediately inside the University North Gate as reported by the JNU Security Department on 17/10/2020... Md. Danish along with a group of students have blocked the road, erected a tent, and drawn electric connection from the control room of JNU security to the tent," read the notice issued to Danish.
The notice also alleged that the act is in clear violation of the Supreme Court judgment against the illegal occupation of public space and also flouts several clauses "governing the rules of the discipline and proper conduct of the schools of the University".
The Supreme Court, in its recent order passed on a batch of petitions against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, has ruled that public places cannot be occupied indefinitely for protests, which must be carried out in designated areas alone.
In a Facebook post, Ghosh said, "See the shameless attitude of the JNU Administration. Comrade Danish is suffering from Dengue, and due to deteriorating health, he has been admitted today to Safdargunj Hospital.
"The JNU administration did not even bother to care about a student but sent security to the Hospital to serve notice to Comrade Danish while he is on a hospital bed to withdraw the protest happening at North Gate!,"
The varsity recently announced the reopening of campus in a phased manner from November 2, for the scholars requiring laboratory access and project staff members.
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Unemployed 'youngsters like cockroaches' become media, activists; attack system: CJI
New Delhi (PTI): Likening some unemployed youngsters to cockroaches, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Friday said they go on to "become" media, social media and RTI activists and start attacking the system.
The comments came while a bench of CJI Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was pulling up a lawyer for "pursuing" a senior advocate designation. It said there were already "parasites" in society who attack the system and asked the petitioner whether he wanted to join hands with them.
"The entire world may be eligible to become senior (advocate), but at least you are not entitled," the bench told the petitioner lawyer.
A visibly anguished CJI observed that if the Delhi High Court would confer senior advocate designation upon the petitioner, the apex court would set that aside seeing his professional conduct.
The CJI also referred to the kind of language used by the petitioner on Facebook.
"There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them?" he said.
"There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment or have any place in profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists and they start attacking everyone," he said.
The bench also asked the petitioner whether he did not have any other litigation.
"Is this the conduct of a person who seeks to be designated as a senior advocate?" the bench asked.
It said senior advocate designation is something that is conferred on a person and is not to be pursued.
"You are pursuing it. Does it look proper?" the top court said, asking whether a senior advocate designation was a status symbol to be kept ornamentally.
It also observed that it wanted to ask the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to verify the degrees of many of those who were wearing black robes as there were serious doubts over the genuineness of their degrees.
It said the Bar Council of India would never do anything on this issue as they "need their votes".
The petitioner apologised to the bench and sought permission to withdraw the petition. The bench allowed the withdrawal of the petition.
