The St. Stephen’s student who was suspended for carrying the Principal’s interview in an online magazine that he had started, has now approached the Delhi High Court for relief.

The magazine he founded was first banned and his suspension followed soon after he spoke about it to the media.

The student, Devansh Mehta, has claimed that he was being repeatedly victimised and has named Principal Valson Thampu as a respondent.

The petition seeks relief against the “the arbitrary, illegal, mala fide and shockingly unreasonable actions unleashed against him by the Principal.”

The first step was stopping the publication of an Internet-based magazine, and then suspending him based on a one-man disciplinary inquiry report which found the student guilty of breaching “college discipline” by speaking to the press.

‘Vindictiveness’

Another case of “vindictiveness” that the student has alleged is the cancellation of his “Rai Sahib Benarsi Das Memorial Prize for which he had been selected.

The petition states that the banning of the publication was in transgression of Article 19 (1) of the Constitution of India which guarantees free speech and that going to the media and speaking to the media cannot be a ground for misconduct.

Relief in respect of the prize that Devansh was to receive on Saturday at the St. Stephen’s Dismissal Service has also been claimed.