The St. Stephen’s student who was suspended for carrying the principal’s interview in an online magazine has now approached the Delhi High Court for relief.
The student e-zine he founded was first banned and his suspension followed soon after he spoke about it to the media .
The student, Devansh Mehta, has claimed that he was being repeatedly victimised and has named the college principal Valson Thampu as a respondent.
The petition seeks relief against , “the arbitrary, illegal, mala fide and shockingly unreasonable actions unleashed against him by the principal.”
Stopping of publication
The first act, according to the petition, was stopping publication of the e-zine, and then suspending him based on a one-man disciplinary enquiry report which found the student guilty of breaching “college discipline” by speaking to the press.
Another case of “vindictiveness”, alleged by Devansh was cancellation of his name from the Rai Sahib Benarsi Das Memorial Prize for which he had been selected.
Devansh was to receive the prize on Saturday at the St. Stephen’s Dismissal Service.
The petition states that banning the e-zine was in transgression of Article 19 (1) of the Constitution and speaking to the media cannot be a ground for misconduct.
The main reasons for Devansh going to court is to get permission to attend the function on Saturday. Devansh, who is a third year Philosophy student is also seeking to protect himself from any adverse action that might ruin his future prospects.
