The Kerala High Court has allowed an appeal filed by Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit and its Vice Chancellor, Ciza Thomas, against an order permitting 16 suspended Students Federation of India (SFI) members to appear in their semester examinations beginning November 4.
A Division Bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S on Tuesday overturned the October 30 order of a single judge, who had permitted the students to take the examinations and directed the university to collect the required examination fees.
The detailed judgement explaining the reasons for the Division Bench’s decision is awaited.
Students Continue Protest Against Suspension
The High Court’s decision came amid protests by the suspended students, who began a hunger strike outside the university on Monday.
Reacting to the ruling, the students expressed disappointment and announced that they would continue their agitation. They also indicated plans to pursue further legal remedies.
One of the protesting students accused the university administration of jeopardising their academic future.
The 16 students have remained suspended for more than two months following an incident involving a mock cremation of Vice Chancellor Ciza Thomas and an alleged assault on her.
University Offers Conditional Revocation of Suspension
The university’s Syndicate had on Monday decided to offer 12 of the 16 students an opportunity to have their suspensions revoked, subject to submitting written apologies to the Vice Chancellor.
However, the Syndicate decided to extend the suspension of the remaining four students by another two months. According to its members, these students had entered the university premises despite being under suspension.
The SFI rejected the condition imposed by the Syndicate and maintained that its members would not apologise.
CPI(M) Backs Students’ Stand
CPI(M) Kerala state secretary M V Govindan also opposed the demand for an apology.
Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram earlier on Tuesday, Govindan referred to allegations that RSS leaders, including V D Savarkar, had apologised to the British authorities and promised to stay away from the freedom struggle to avoid punishment.
He said the SFI in Kerala would not adopt such a position and asserted that decisions considered detrimental to students would face strong protests.
The students have maintained their opposition to the university’s disciplinary action even as the Division Bench’s ruling has set aside the earlier judicial permission allowing them to sit for the examinations.
