india

Updated: Jan 24, 2020 14:05 IST

The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University who had not registered for the next semester to protest the fee hike to complete the formalities according to the older fee structure.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who was hearing a petition filed by the JNU students’ union leaders including president Aishe Ghosh, said about 10 per cent students who had stayed away from the registration process should register within the next one week.

The judge also told the university that it would not levy any late fee on these students.

The petition by JNUSU office bearers had asked the high court to intervene and order the university administration to roll back changes made to the hostel manual and the fee structure last year.

The petition had argued that the inter-hostel administration’s (IHA) October 28, 2019, order on the hostel manual was arbitrary and “illegal”.

The students have also challenged the high-level committee’s decision to amend the hostel manual on November 25. In the petition filed through lawyer Abhik Chimni, the students said the changes had led to an increase in hostel fees, affected the rights of reserved categories and allocation of hostel rooms, and reduced the representation of the students’ union in the IHA among other issues.

It said the high-level committee notified on November 24 had made further “illegal amendments to the hostel manual and introduced a new below poverty line category though the executive council minutes did not explain how it was being made applicable to students.

The plea said that before the amendment, the students benefited by a scheme known as the ‘merit-cum-means scholarships’. This scheme is meant for students whose annual income does not exceed Rs 2,50, 000. However, after the recent changes, the students would now not be able to avail the benefits of this scheme, it said.

The case would be heard on February 28.