Kerala High Court has said that activities like dharna, hunger strike and Satyagraha have no place in constitutional democracy. The court said- Educational institutions are for education, not for politics. Students involved in movements may be expelled from the institute. The court made this comment in the case of 16 suspended students of Sri Shankaracharya Sanskrit University, Kaldi. The division bench of the High Court quashed the interim order of the single judge, in which students were allowed to appear for the semester examinations. The university had suspended the students on September 1 pending an investigation into the incidents that occurred on campus on August 13. After this the students approached the High Court challenging the suspension. After not getting relief from the High Court, the students have approached the Supreme Court. 16 students were suspended after the incident of August 13. The university had issued an order on September 1, 2026, suspending 16 students. This action was taken pending the completion of the investigation into the incidents that took place on the campus on August 13. The university had also formed a committee to investigate the matter. Following the suspension, students were barred from entering the campus. He was allowed to come only to attend the hearing on the dates fixed by the inquiry committee. The students had filed a petition in the High Court saying that their long suspension was illegal. Due to this they are not able to attend classes and their studies are suffering. His argument was that he should not be stopped from taking the examination due to low attendance due to suspension. University said – Students’ attendance and necessary conditions are not fulfilled. The University said in the court that the students do not fulfill the prescribed eligibility conditions to appear in the examination. These include minimum attendance and successful completion of internal examinations. According to the university, the students had not even submitted the applications required under the rules for condonation of lack of attendance. Along with this, necessary documents and recommendations of heads of concerned departments or directors of the center were also not given. Earlier on October 30, the single judge had directed the university to accept the examination fees of the students and allow them to appear in the examination. This permission was subject to the final decision on his main petition. The examinations were to start from November 4. Division Bench said- Single judge has given the main relief only to Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Murali Krishna S. The Division Bench said that the students’ petition did not contain necessary facts and documents which could prove their eligibility to appear in the examination. The court found that none of the students had submitted the necessary application for condonation of lack of attendance. Along with this, necessary documents and recommendations of concerned department heads or center directors were not given in support of the application. The bench said that the single judge allowed the students to appear for the examination without examining whether they were eligible as per the rules of the university or not. In this way, through the interim order, the students were given the main relief which they had demanded in their petition. The court also said that the courts cannot give such instructions to the university or any other institution, which are against the law or the laid down rules. Comment on political activities was also made in the 2017 judgment. The Division Bench in the 2017 case Dr. Antony Thomas vs. V.M. Cited the decision given in Mohammad Rafiq. In that decision also, the Division Bench of the High Court had said that political activities like dharna, hunger strike and Satyagraha have no place in a constitutional democracy, especially in educational institutions. That decision said that students involved in such activities could be expelled or expelled from the institute. The court had also said that political parties cannot, for their own ambitions, obstruct educational institutions or the right to education of other students studying there. Ambedkar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly was also mentioned. In the 2017 decision, the High Court also mentioned the speech given by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949. In this, Ambedkar had emphasized on adopting constitutional methods to achieve social and economic objectives. He had said that when constitutional methods are available, adopting methods like civil disobedience, non-cooperation and Satyagraha can lead to anarchy. He called such methods ‘Grammar of Anarchy’. The bench referred to Principal of Engineering College vs. Anas P.M. Another decision given in the case was also cited. It was said in that decision that students may have to bear the brunt of the drop in attendance due to the suspension.
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केरल हाईकोर्ट बोला- लोकतंत्र में धरना-भूख हड़ताल की जगह नहीं: कॉलेज पढ़ाई के लिए, राजनीति के लिए नहीं; आंदोलनकारी छात्रों को संस्थान से निकाल सकते हैं
