BBC Documentary screening: Delhi HC Sets Aside DU’s Decision to Debar Congress Student Leader

The Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside the Delhi University’s decision to bar PhD Scholar and NSUI National Secretary Lokesh Chugh from taking exams for a year due to his alleged involvement in the screening of a recent BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the latter’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Yadav quashed the decision claiming “violation of natural justice” and restored Chugh’s admission.
“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 court said.
The registrar office of the university passed a memorandum on March 10 debarring him from taking the examinations for a period of one year. Chugh also challenged the show cause notice issued by the office of the proctor on February 16 which said that he was involve in disturbance of law and order in the university during the screening of the documentary.
In its response to the plea by Chugh, the university had said that the screening of the documentary inside the campus amounted to gross acts of indiscipline.
The university also stated that Chugh was indulging into “campus politics” rather than concentrating on his research and was also inciting other students to indulge in “petty politics.”
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate Abhik Chimni represented Chugh.
In his plea, Chugh claimed that he was neither detained nor charged with any form of incitement or violence or disturbance of peace by the police.
It was also argued that the memorandum was subject to dismissal for a lack of finding on any specific ground of indiscipline, as well as for a failure to apply one’s mind.