Kolkata, 14 September (H.S.): A plea seeking an urgent hearing of a pending public interest litigation (PIL) demanding a ban on the entry of outsiders into university campuses across West Bengal was moved before the Calcutta High Court on Monday.

The plea was moved before a division bench comprising Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra. The PIL on the same issue is already pending before the High Court, and the petitioner has now sought its urgent hearing in view of recent incidents of clashes between rival student groups at different university campuses in the state.

According to court sources, the PIL is likely to come up for hearing on September 16 before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty.

The development comes against the backdrop of recent incidents at Jadavpur University in south Kolkata, where activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M), and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were involved in two rounds of clashes.

The petitioner has sought a prohibition on the entry of outsiders not only into the Jadavpur University campus but also into all university campuses across West Bengal. The PIL argues that the presence and activities of outsiders frequently disturb the academic atmosphere and adversely affect the normal functioning of educational institutions.

Appearing for the petitioner, the counsel submitted that unrestricted entry of outsiders, particularly at Jadavpur University, has been a longstanding concern and has repeatedly resulted in disturbances affecting students.

The petitioner also pointed out that even after the PIL was filed, reports of clashes between rival student groups continued to emerge from other university campuses in the state.

Citing these developments, the petitioner has sought an urgent hearing, arguing that immediate judicial intervention is necessary to safeguard a peaceful academic environment in universities across West Bengal.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh