Calcutta HC Bans Political Rallies Near JU till Mar 13

Amid prevailing and continuing tension in West Bengal's Jadavpur University (JU) over the ruckus within the university premises on March 1, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, has barred any kind of political rally in the locality in the vicinity of the varsity campus till March 13 without prior permission of the court.

However, the single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh has given conditional clearance to a pre-scheduled rally by a BJP-affiliated students' body on Sunday which will be led by the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari.

As per the directive of the single-judge bench, not more 750 individuals will be able to participate in the rally and the end point of the rally will 100 years away from the boundary wall of the Jadavpur University.

On the restrictions imposed on Sunday's rally, Justice Ghosh observed that it is not a students' programme in the true sense of it and the factor of the security aspects of the LoP will have to be kept in mind. The court has also fixed the rally time between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Justice Ghosh also directed the police administration to ensure that no permission for rally is given to any political outfit during the period fixed by the court.

The ruckus broke out within the Jadavpur University campus on Saturday when the State Education Minister Bratya Basu's car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed. 

The students were demanding immediate elections for the university's students' council. The protesting students alleged that while Basu decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests, his vehicle deliberately hit two agitating students, following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalised.

Amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell sick. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College and Hospital and was discharged later. 

—IANS