HC notice to state on ABVP meet on campus

The Madhya Pradesh high court has issued notices to the state higher education department, Indore mayor, municipal commissioner and the principal of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government College of Arts and Commerce for allowing the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to hold a four-day national convention on the campus.

The Madhya Pradesh high court has issued notices to the state higher education department, Indore mayor, municipal commissioner and the principal of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government College of Arts and Commerce for allowing the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to hold a four-day national convention on the campus.

A writ petition was moved before the Indore bench of the high court last week challenging the decision to allow the organisation to conduct the meet on a government college campus. (Pic for representation)

A writ petition was moved before the Indore bench last week challenging the decision to allow the organisation to conduct the meet on a government college campus.

The petitioner, Tapan Bhattacharya, said the campus of a government educational institution can’t be used for political purposes.

The ABVP, the students’ wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has called for organising the convention between December 24 and 27 on the campus of Government Arts and Commerce College.

“A party cannot propagate its political agenda in a government educational institute,” Anand Mohan Mathur, the petitioner’s lawyer, told the high court bench.

“At many earlier instances, the Supreme Court has held that government educational campuses cannot be used for political purposes,” said Mathur.

The petitioner alleged that the Indore Municipal Corporation has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore for preparing college grounds for the mega event, which is unconstitutional.

“If the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad wants to organise a function, why should the Municipal Corporation spend from its exchequer? How can a college campus be permitted to be used for a political event? If ABVP wants to organise an event, they can obtain any public ground on rent,” said Bhattacharya.

“BJP governments at the Centre, the state and at the municipal levels are hand-in-glove with organising the mega event on college campus to benefit ABVP,” alleged Bhattacharya.

After hearing the arguments, the division bench of justice PK Jaiswal and justice Virendra Singh slapped notices on the authorities and sought their replies by December 9.