Kerala High Court bans exams for 16 suspended students of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University

In an important verdict, the Kerala High Court has stated that in a constitutional democracy, there is no place for political activities such as dharnas, hunger strikes, and satyagrahas, especially in educational institutions. The court made this observation during the case of 16 suspended students of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University, located in Kalady. The division bench of the High Court has set aside the interim order issued by a single judge, which had allowed the students to appear for the semester exams starting from 4 November.

The division bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Murali Krishnan S. gave this ruling on 3 November. The court noted that the single bench had given these directions in the absence of evidence. The students had not proved that they were eligible to take the exams, such as having the required internal assessment marks and attendance. The court further stated that the students had not even filed any application to get their shortage of attendance condoned. The division bench clarified that no court can direct a university to act against the law. Along with this, the court also pointed out that the single bench did not give the university an opportunity to reply before issuing this order.

The beginning of this entire controversy took place on 13 August, when students affiliated with the Students' Federation of India (SFI) held a protest during a syndicate meeting at the university. The students were raising 18 demands, such as the water problem on campus, lack of basic facilities, and filling vacant teacher posts. During the protest, the students staged a street play, which depicted symbolic funeral rites. The university administration and Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas allege that this play depicted their symbolic funeral.

According to Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas, when she was stepping out of the campus after the syndicate meeting, more than 18 protesters stopped her and pushed her. She alleged that the protesters pulled her hair and damaged her car. Following this incident, the police registered a case against 19 people and four SFI activists were arrested. On the other hand, the students argued that the street play was performed in protest against the poor equipment of the theatre department.

The university syndicate decided to form a committee to probe the matter on 22 August, and subsequently, 16 students were suspended on 1 September. These suspended students include students from MSW, MFA, MA, Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP), and PhD. Following the suspension, their entry into the campus was banned and they were permitted only for the inquiry committee hearings.

The students petitioned the High Court on 12 October stating that due to being suspended for a long time, their studies were getting disrupted and they were unable to attend classes. They argued that the responsibility for low attendance lay with the university because the university itself had prevented them from coming to the campus. However, the university told the court that the students had not fulfilled the conditions of minimum attendance for the exam and passing the internal exams. According to the university, the students had also not registered for the exam within the stipulated time and had not submitted the necessary documents or recommendations of the heads of departments to get the attendance condoned.

The court sternly stated that educational institutions are for imparting education, not for politics. Political parties cannot hold an educational institution or the right to education of other disciplined students hostage for their political ambition. The court warned that students involved in activities like dharnas, hunger strikes, or satyagrahas can be expelled or rusticated from the institution. Following this decision of the High Court, 16 students affiliated with the SFI have now approached the Supreme Court, as they say that this could ruin their entire semester.

On the other hand, according to a report by 'The Times of India', an 85-year-old woman named Indira Amma in Kerala itself has been teaching children in a unique way for the last 10 years. She teaches basic principles of Malayalam, Hindi, English, and mathematics to children using sand and a stick. Children learn with joy by drawing letters in the sand, which has created a waste-free and fun-filled learning environment.

Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University is an educational institution located in Kalady, Kerala, which is known for the study of Sanskrit and other scriptures.