New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia has suspended a PhD scholar for five days for allegedly participating in a protest gathering on Monday against the alleged “retaliatory” eviction notices served to several women hostellers who had staged a prolonged agitation over bugs found in mess food. The scholar has been barred from entering the campus during the suspension period.The show-cause notice, issued by the office of the chief proctor on Sept 28, said an unauthorised gathering was held at the central canteen at 5pm that day, disrupting the university’s routine functioning and affecting teaching, learning and research activities in nearby departments, laboratories and libraries. It accused the scholar of delivering a speech and “giving publicity to misleading accounts and rumours”, thereby inciting other students to breach discipline.The notice said his actions amounted to “gross misconduct” under various clauses of the university’s students’ discipline ordinance. He has been directed to explain by Oct 5 why a higher punishment should not be imposed.Speaking to TOI, the student said the protest was organised by women hostel residents against a recent alleged forced eviction, which they believed was retaliatory following their protests over food safety in the mess.Earlier, hostellers had alleged eviction notices were served on them for participating in protests against the mess food. The administration, however, had said the students did not meet the eligibility criteria and that hostel renewal was carried out every year on the basis of merit.Saima Saeed, chief public relations officer, Jamia Millia Islamia, said the university is not stopping anyone from exercising their right to protest. “The university has a designated site for protests, as per court orders, and if anyone violates these guidelines and disrupts the academic environment, the university is bound to take action. Secondly, Jamia follows a merit-based hostel allocation system. If a student does not meet the prescribed 55% marks criterion, we are only following the established procedure. There is no correlation between the mess food protest and the eviction notices,” Saeed said.
