The Gujarat High Court has provided relief to a student from Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gaurav Meena, who was suspended from the college hostel for allegedly not cooperating with a Student Disciplinary Committee (SDC) inquiry related to an anti-ragging complaint he filed (Gaurav Meena v. Gujarat National Law University).
Meena received a notice from the GNLU Registrar on September 21, instructing him to vacate his hostel room. In response, he filed a petition in the High Court to challenge the suspension.
Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee, presiding over the case, stayed Meena’s suspension and ordered GNLU to immediately reinstate him in his assigned hostel room. In the court’s order dated October 9, it stated, “In the meantime, the impugned communication/notice dated 20.9.2024 suspending the petitioner from the Halls of Residence with immediate effect shall remain stayed until further orders. The respondent No.1 University is directed to reinstate the petitioner in the Halls of Residence to his allotted room with immediate effect upon receipt of this order.” The court also requested a response from GNLU regarding Meena’s plea.
In September of the previous year, Meena filed an anti-ragging complaint with the University Grants Commission (UGC) against another student, which led to an inquiry. Following the inquiry, the accused student was directed to apologize to Meena. When the accused failed to comply, Meena lodged another complaint through the UGC’s E-Samadhan portal.
On September 10, the UGC instructed GNLU to address the matter promptly. Meena was then summoned to appear for a Student Disciplinary Committee inquiry on September 13 concerning his complaint. However, he informed the committee of a scheduling conflict due to a test on that date and requested accommodation.
According to Meena, although he attempted to meet with the relevant authorities after his test on September 13, the university did not entertain his requests. On September 20, he received a notice from the GNLU Registrar stating that he was suspended from the hostel for non-cooperation with the SDC and was required to vacate within 24 hours.
Meena complied with the suspension notice and vacated the hostel but later challenged the decision in the High Court. The court has now ordered GNLU to reinstate him pending further proceedings.
