HC seeks JNU, Delhi govt response on plea by two students over hostel fee

The Delhi high court Wednesday sought the response of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on a plea by two PhD students, seeking to stop the varsity from charging

The Delhi high court Wednesday sought the response of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on a plea by two PhD students, seeking to stop the varsity from charging them hostel and mess fee for the months from April to August, when they had vacated the hostel rooms due to Covid-19 pandemic.

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Justice Jayant Nath issued a notice to JNU and Delhi government and asked them to file their replies to the plea.

The two students, Prachi Bansal and Vaishali Bansal, in their plea filed through advocates Abhik Chimni and Mayank Goyal, contended that the university was not allowing them to register for the monsoon semester, by withholding their hostel clearance. They said they would not be able to continue with their academic work if their registration is not allowed.

The counsels told the court that on March 19, a notice was issued by JNU asking students to vacate the hostel rooms and now they were not allowed to access hostel rooms to carry out their academic work. They said the university is also asking them to pay hostel and mess fee for the months when the two students were not in residence at the JNU hostel -- i.e, from April to August.

The counsels said the decision to charge mess fee is arbitrary in nature and claimed that the act is illegal and contrary to hostel rules.

Advocate Monika Arora, representing JNU, said the hostel in question is a working women’s self-financed hostel and the petitioner students are getting HRA (house rent allowance) from the government. She said in case they have financial difficulties and their scholarships have been closed, the authorities will consider any representation made by them as per law. Otherwise, before the monsoon session, they will have to clear the dues, Arora said.

During the hearing, the two students, as an interim relief, sought directions to the varsity to allow them to access their allotted rooms and also to allow their registration for the next semester.

On this, the high court said the students are free to deposit the entire fee, without prejudice to their rights, and this amount will be subject to the outcome of their petition. It also said the students are free to access the hostel room to remove their belongings, with prior intimation to authorities, in accordance with rules.