Amid call for semester registration boycott, JNUSU to move Delhi HC against hostel manual

The JNU Students’ Union is set to approach the Delhi High Court on January 20 seeking to quash the newly approved Inter Hostel Management manual. Earlier in the week, the JNUSU has issued a statement urging students to boycott the semester registration process. JNU VC Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar on Thursday stated that more than 65 per cent of the students had paid the revised hostel charges.  

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"Out of about 8,500 students in JNU, we provide on-campus accommodation to about 6,450 students in different hostels and the remaining students are day scholars. Nearly 95 per cent of day scholars have cleared their semester dues. More than 65 per cent of students staying in the hostels on campus have cleared their hostel dues by paying the new hostel charges. Many of the remaining hostlers are returning back to the campus from their homes," the JNU VC remarked. 

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JNU hostel manual

A draft hostel manual uploaded on the website of JNU in October 2019 sparked outrage among residents. The JNU inter-hall administration, which looks after all its 18 hostels sought suggestions on the draft rules from students and professors. Students alleged that the proposed regulations included an “appropriate dressing rule” in dining halls, hike in the hostel fees and a curfew time.  

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Service and utility charges waived off for students

Since then, the JNUSU has been involved in massive protests demanding a withdrawal of the new manual. The attempt of the protesters to march towards the Parliament during the Winter session in November 2019 was unsuccessful. However, the situation took a turn for a worse in when some elements tried to forcefully halt the university's registration process.

This was followed by a brutal assault on the students of JNU on January 5, 2020. Both the ABVP and the Left affiliated student organisations accused each other of the violence on the campus which resulted in at least 34 people getting injured. Eventually, the JNU administration announced that the revised service and utility charges would be borne entirely by the University Grants Commission. 

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(With ANI inputs)