Undertaking for protests will help detect criminal-minded students: Panjab University to HC
“The students who indulge in criminal activities have a different mindset and have nothing to do with their studies. They are not at all interested to pursue their studies rather create problems for other students who want to pursue their studies…,” the varsity stated.
Filing its response before the Punjab and Haryana high court on the protest undertaking issue, Panjab University on Tuesday stated that it was necessary to ascertain and distinguish “criminal-minded students” whose presence hampered the study of other students.
“The students who indulge in criminal activities have a different mindset and have nothing to do with their studies. They are not at all interested to pursue their studies rather create problems for other students who want to pursue their studies…,” the varsity stated.
It added that disciplinary action against errant students would be taken only when acts of violence were proved or they were found violating any terms and conditions contained in the impugned affidavit. The reply also mentioned various FIRs filed in the previous session against protesting students, who had tried to disrupt an event organised by the Punjab chief minister and also burnt effigies of the Vice-President of India.
The university, through its counsel Subhash Ahuja and Karanveer Ahuja, also objected to the writ petition filed by former Panjab University Campus Students’ Council president Archit Garg, calling it devoid of merit and seeking its dismissal.
Regarding the allegation that obtaining affidavits from students would undermine the university ethos or keep the university from being a free space, it was submitted that obtaining affidavits would give positive results at least from students who were serious about studies.
They said this was unlike the petitioner (Garg), who they alleged was solely interested in politics and “wanted to become famous like gangster Lawrence Bishnoi”, a gangster who was also formerly involved in PU politics.
The university also said if the petitioner was really aggrieved by the process, he should have approached the court without participating in the process of admission and he cannot be allowed to turn round to assail the whole process of admission.
Controversy had erupted in June when PU came out with admission guidelines for the academic session 2025-26. As per the clause, inserted in the Handbook of Information 2025, PU can debar students from exams or cancel their admission if the protest guidelines, which mandated prior approval for protests, was violated. This was to apply to fresh admissions only.
Contesting the move, Garg had approached the high court in July. The court had observed that students seeking admission into PU will have to abide by the varsity’s decision of taking an undertaking from students over “permission before protests”, pending a decision in the court. The matter will next be taken up on November 11.
