The Calcutta High Court has recently dismissed a Public Interest Litigation filed by an Advocate seeking a direction to the respondent police authorities to ensure that law and order prevails in and around the campus of Visva Bharati University.
The PIL by Advocate Rama Prasad Sarkar also sought certain incidental reliefs.
In the petition, the petitioner has alleged that a large scale agitation, at the instance of some students and outsiders, is going on in the respondent Visva Bharati University and on account of the agitation, the functioning of the university is disrupted, posing grave law and order situation. It is also alleged that on account of the same, some of the examinations were required to be postponed.
Having examined the record, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj noted that there had been a similar petition filed by the Visva Bharati University raising similar issues and the learned single judge on September 3, 2021 had issued following directions:
“The following directions are passed that shall be complied with immediately today:
(i) All demonstrations, banners, barricades and obstruction outside the residence of the Vice Chancellor shall be forthwith removed by the Officer-in-charge, Santiniketan Police Station.
(ii) The Vice Chancellor of the University in addition to his own Security Guards shall 4 also be provided with three constables from the Santiniketan Police Station for his protection.
(iii) The locks on the administrative building and any other part of the University by the students shall be broken open by the Officer-in-charge, Santiniketan Police Station and the premises shall be handed over to concerned persons.
(iv) No demonstration shall be conducted by any students or any persons within a distance of 50 meters of any portion or part of the University, particularly, the schools, Classrooms, the residence of the Vice Chancellor, teachers, professors, officials, staff library, the administrative buildings laboratories etc.
(v) The demonstrators shall remove any material they have brought into the University premises and dispose of all litter in an orderly manner.
(vi) Loudspeakers shall not be permitted inside the University premises.
(vii) None of the employees of the University including the VC, Professors, Teachers, Officials and other staff shall be prevented from entering the University premises or the respective Schools and Departments under it.
(viii) All obstructions to any CCTV camera in the University at any place shall be forthwith removed and a report to this effect shall be submitted independently by the Registrar of the University and also the Officer-incharge, Santiniketan Police Station.
(ix) The normal functioning of the University shall be restored immediately and the Officer-in-Charge, Shantiniketan PS shall render all assistance in this regard. There shall be no disruption, howsoever and whatsoever by any person or persons.
Then again, another Petition was filed by the University raising certain grievances and requisite directions were issued on 08.03.2022 to ensure smooth conduct of examination. The concerned police authorities were also directed to ensure that no outsiders remain in the University or enter the campus and to do periodical and surprise inspection.
In the Current PIL on its perusal by the Bench, it held that most of the allegations made in the petition relate to the incidents of March 2022 or prior thereto. The single judge has already issued appropriate directions for smooth functioning of the respondent University. The submission of the petitioner that those directions were by the single judge, therefore, now the direction by the Division Bench is required, is found to be of no substance by the Bench.
The Counsel appearing for the respondent University has also informed the Court that after the orders of the Single Judge, there is no agitation in the respondent University.
In the aforesaid circumstances, the Court found no ground to entertain the present petition and issue any direction. Hence, the petition is dismissed.