Allahabad High Court Orders Inquiry Into Allegations of Caste-Based Discrimination at RPNLU
New Delhi: The Allahabad high court has ordered an independent inquiry into allegations of caste-based discrimination made by a student belonging to the Dalit community against a professor at Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University in Prayagraj.
The student, who is pursuing BA LLB (Hons.) at the institution, alleged that the Head of the Department (HoD) of Law and the warden of the boy’s hostel used his academic and administrative authority as an "instrument of caste-based humiliation and retaliation”.
The student also alleged that his answer sheets were evaluated more strictly because of his caste, and that the HoD had previously made insulting remarks about caste and reservation.
The court, while constituting a two-member committee of judicial officers to look into the matter, also asked the university to form an independent committee to re-evaluate the answer sheets of the fifth semester student, LiveLaw reported.
The HoD has been relieved of all administrative responsibilities until the completion of the inquiry on the court’s orders.
The judicial committee will also look into the varsity’s response to the petitioner’s complaint. According to LiveLaw, the student had submitted a complaint to Vice-Chancellor Usha Tandon on August 20. However, despite repeated reminders, the university failed to act on his complaint, the student has alleged in his petition.
‘Why do you need reservation?’
The student mentioned remarks made by the faculty member in his petition. "Jo constitutional law me highest lekar aya hai, ab mere me lekar aaye. (The one who got the highest marks in Constitutional Law, let him get the highest marks in my subject now),” the HoD had said in the beginning of the fourth semester, in an indirect reference to the petitioner, LiveLaw reported.
The petitioner alleged that the remark was directed at him because the faculty member knew that he had topped the Constitutional Law-I examination.
In a separate incident, the faculty member allegedly asked, "Tum to achchi family se ho, tumhe reservation kyo chahiye? (You come from a good family; why do you need reservation?)”, LiveLaw reported.
What did the court say?
A single judge bench of Justice Vinod Diwakar passed the order on September 16, noting that the allegations were serious and warranted an independent examination.
The court constituted a committee comprising Archana Singh-I, Judge, Small Cause Court, District Court, Prayagraj, and Arun Kumar Yadava, Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Prayagraj, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to the high court, LiveLaw reported.
The court also asked the vice-chancellor of the university to ensure that the student does not face any adverse academic or administrative consequences as a result of the court proceedings.
The case comes amid renewed focus on caste-based discrimination and the mental health of students due to the death of a 20-year-old student at IIT-Bombay last week.
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