The Delhi High Court on Friday asked former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Mohit Pandey to deposit within a week the ₹20,000 fine imposed on him by the varsity for ‘unlawfully confining’ some of its officials during a protest last year.
The court gave the order on Mr. Pandey’s plea that he had gone to the university to deposit the fine on three occasions but the varsity did not accept it. His counsel contended that the university instead asked him to get permission from the Chief Proctor, to whom he sent letters but was yet to receive a response. The court had on September 13 asked JNU to unblock Mr. Pandey’s academic entry after he deposited the fine.
The JNU administration had held six students, including Mr. Pandey, guilty of ‘unlawful confinement’ of the Vice-Chancellor (VC) and other top officials during a protest in October 2016 seeking justice for missing student Najeeb Ahmad. Mr. Pandey claimed that he sat on dharna outside the V-C’s office and that the fine was imposed as punishment and he was asked to shift out of his hostel on campus.
