KU Syndicate member approaches HC seeking police protection

A Syndicate member of Kerala University has approached the Kerala High Court seeking police protection, citing ‘unprecedented violence unleashed by factions of the ruling party in the State’ on the university premises in the wake of the controversy over the placing of an image of ‘Bharat Mata’ in the university’s Senate Hall at a function in June.

In his petition, the member P.S. Gopakumar referred to subsequent events as having led to an ‘administrative standstill’ in the university, disruption of academic and student services, unauthorised protests, violence, destruction of property and the grave risk of tampering with official records. He sought relief from the court to ‘restore legality and order in the university’s functioning and to prevent further subversion of statutory processes and democratic academic governance’.

To this, the Bench of Justice N. Nagaresh asked him to specify an incident of obstruction he faced while entering the university and said police protection cannot be ordered, based just on fear or apprehensions. Directing him to submit an affidavit in this regard, stating the time and date of such incident(s), the court posted the case for hearing on Monday.