The Delhi high court on Thursday, April 27, set aside a Delhi University (DU) order that debarred a student for his alleged involvement in screening the banned BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots.
“The court is unable to sustain the impugned order dated March 10, 2023. Impugned order is set aside. The admission of the petitioner is restored. Necessary consequences will follow,”
The debarred student, Lokesh Chug, is one of the national secretaries of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), affiliated to the Congress party. The university had accused Chug of being a “mastermind” behind the screening, stating that he had active participation in the related protest on the university campus.
The university administration, represented by Attorney General of India R. Venkataramani, had told the court that Chugh, instead of concentrating on his research, was indulging in “campus politics” and was instrumental in inciting the other students to indulge in “petty politics”,
It had further said Chugh along with others tried to screen the banned documentary on Modi without permission and organising protests despite the imposition of prohibitory orders. Chugh’s action, the university had said, amounted to “gross indiscipline”. In response, the he was banned from appearing in any university examination for one year, the university had said.
Challenging the university’s decision, Chugh had moved the court, stating that the action against him was “disproportionate” and that he was not provided with an opportunity to present his case before the university disciplinary committee.
“It is humbly submitted that the Petitioner was not informed about the charges/findings against him by the Disciplinary Authority. It is also relevant to note that the Impugned Memorandum is silent as to how the Petitioner was involved in incident dated 27.01.2023. The Impugned Memorandum only makes a passing reference to Petitioner’s alleged involvement in the screening of BBC Documentary,” Chugh had said in his plea before the court.
He had also said that at the relevant time, he was not present at the protest site, and neither had he facilitated/participated in the screening in any manner. In his defence, he had also drawn the attention of the court that he was neither detained or booked by police with any form of incitement or violence or disturbance of the peace by police.
The two-part documentary series by BBC sheds light on the alleged involvement of the then chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots that rocked the state. Even though the Union government banned the documentary from viewing in India, several students organisations held screenings in various universities.
