Delhi University is behaving like an ostrich, says Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Delhi University is behaving like an ostrich by “sticking its head in the sand” instead of taking action against a law student accused of intimidating teachers on several occasions, the Delhi high court said on Tuesday.

“There is complete lawlessness and you have stuck your head in the sand like an ostrich,” a bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Deepa Sharma told the university.

It also told the varsity that the court “would not permit lawless elements to roam free in the campus”. The court was hearing a plea initiated by it on an alleged assault on  dean Ved Kumari and some professors of DU’s law faculty by some students last year.

The Delhi police also felt some heat from the bench which said this was a “law and order situation” and the courts cannot be expected to “police the law faculty” in DU.

“Should we wield the baton now,” it asked the police. The court told the agency that it had earlier also observed that “inevitability of punishment would be the only deterrent” against lawless behaviour.

The remarks from the bench came after the police told the court that the student in question, former DUSU president Satender Awana, continued to intimidate the teaching faculty despite several FIRs against him.

It told the court that it has filed two charge-sheets against Mr Awana in regard with the incidents of violence against the law faculty members, including the dean. The police, represented by its counsel R. Mehra, said chargesheets were filed on October 17 in the trial court and the next date of hearing was on January 9, 2018.