The Delhi University did not apply its mind while taking a decision to bar a student from appearing for examinations for a year on allegations that he had organised a screening of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Delhi High Court observed on Tuesday, reported Bar and Bench.
The court was hearing a plea filed by the research scholar Lokesh Chugh, challenging the university’s decision. The court has asked the Delhi University to file a response to the petition in three days.
“You are a university...The impugned order does not show the application of mind,” Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted. “It must have reflected why you are coming to the conclusion.”
On January 27, a screening of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” was held at the Delhi University.
The documentary examined Modi’s alleged role in the communal riots that took place in Gujarat in 2002 and his subsequent track record. Even as the BBC did not release the documentary in India, on January 21, the Centre directed YouTube and Twitter to remove links sharing snippets from the documentary.
On February 16, Delhi University issued Chugh a show cause notice alleging that he had disturbed law and order inside the campus. On March 10, Chugh was barred from appearing for any examination for a year.
In his plea, Chugh claimed that he was not present in campus at the time of the screening on January 27, Live Law reported. Chugh also said that he had not been informed about the charges against him and that the university resorted to “disproportionate action”.
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