DU scholar debarred over BBC film back in HC, says can’t submit PhD thesis

Lokesh Chugh was debarred by DU on March 10 from taking any university exam for his alleged role in screening a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots on January 27

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday told Delhi University to respond to research scholar Lokesh Chugh’s petition that accused the university of not acting on his request to let him submit his PhD thesis despite the high court’s order in April.

The Delhi high court ordered Delhi university to respond to DU scholar Lokesh Chugh’s petition over submission of his PhD thesis (File Photo)

The PhD scholar was debarred on March 10 from taking any examination by the university for his alleged role in screening a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots at DU’s faculty of arts on January 27 but the order was set aside by the Delhi high court on April 27.

In his petition filed by lawyer Naman Joshi, Chugh said that he made several attempts to submit his PhD thesis following the high court order but was stonewalled. He asked the high court to direct the university to accept his thesis and notify a date for viva voce.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav on Wednesday issued a notice to DU. The case will be next taken up on July 17.

Lokesh Chugh, a PhD research scholar in the department of anthropology, faculty of science, is the national secretary of the Congress-affiliated National Student’s Union of India (NSUI).

On April 27, justice Kaurav quashed the university’s order barring him from attending the varsity examination for a year, saying that the varsity did not offer him an opportunity to be heard. The court said since the debarment order was being set aside for a lack of adherence to the principles of natural justice, the university was free to take action against Chugh in accordance with the law.

Chugh said the DU vice-chancellor did make a statement following the high court’s April 27 order that the university planned to challenge the high court order. The university has not filed an appeal against the high court order but was not implementing it either, he added.

Protests erupted at DU’s Arts faculty on January 27 after police detained at least 24 students attempting to screen the controversial BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question.

The documentary sparked a backlash, with the central government declaring it “propaganda” and a reflection of a “colonial mindset”.

The university alleged that Chugh was the “mastermind” of the protests and that his act amounts to gross indiscipline, a charge that was contested by Chugh who insisted that he wasn’t even at the protest site.