The Kerala High Court on September 5 (Thursday) allowed a fourth-year student of Electronics and Communications Engineering at the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C), who was barred by the authorities from attending the institute’s convocation scheduled for September 7, to participate in the event.
Ben Thomas was among the five students who was fined around ₹6 lakh each by the administration for attending a protest event in March against some restrictions imposed on the campus. In a mail on August 28, the authorities told him that his “registration for the convocation 2024 cancelled.” He was also told that his degree would be processed only after “clearing the dues”.
Mr. Thomas, however, approached the High Court against this. In an interim direction, the court stayed the order, allowing him to participate in the convocation.
“...The reason pointed out for such prevention is that the petitioner participated in a boycott and disrupted the functioning of the college for an entire day which resulted in a huge loss to the institution. However, on going by the materials, I am not convinced that this is not the way to recover the loss. As of now, there is no finalisation of the disciplinary proceedings that has to be initiated against such students who violated the discipline of the college. It is also noticed that there is no quantification of the amount after a due enquiry that should be culminated in a proceeding,” Justice P.M. Manoj said in his order. The court also directed Mr. Thomas to produce bank guarantee equal to an amount claimed by the NIT-C.
Published - September 05, 2024 11:56 pm IST
