A division bench of the high court on Thursday ordered the closure of union rooms across all state-aided colleges and universities in Bengal.
The bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De passed the order on a PIL filed by advocate Sayan Banerjee.
“Replying to an RTI query, the state higher education department has said there is no existing student union or student council in any college. Why are the union rooms open then?” Banerjee asked.
Justice Sen said: “All union rooms in state-aided colleges and universities will be shut till further order. The state higher education department must issue a notice in this regard. Authorities must keep the union rooms locked. The rooms cannot be used for any recreational activities. In case of an emergency, a written application must be made to the registrar to open the room.”
The PIL was filed following the alleged gang rape of a student at South Calcutta Law College on June 25. According to the woman’s statement to police, Monojit Mishra, a former student of the college, assaulted her in the students’ union room, then beat and raped her in the security guard’s room.
Despite graduating, Mish-ra continued to hold sway over South Calcutta Law College, said present students.