A civil society body, the Solidarity Committee for Rusticated Students from EFLU, has demanded that Vice-Chancellor Sunaina Singh immediately revoke the rustication as “it was not only harsh but taken without following set procedures”.
After a meeting on Wednesday, the committee members wrote to the VC holding that punishment was disproportionate to the gravity of offence, and against principles of natural justice. MLC Chukka Ramaiah and journalist Mallepalli Lakshmaiah were signatories.
In its letter to the OU police, the Students Union had also denied that the rusticated students were responsible for breaking the glass of the library door. The affected students too had denied the allegations.
Moreover, 13 of the 17 witnesses to the incident did not name them. The committee said they had to intervene due to continuous protests from students and faculty.