Patna High Court, in a stinging remark on Tuesday, said: "The Saidpur hostel of Patna University (PU) is not fit even for animals".
Expressing its displeasure, the court summoned the chief secretary, education secretary, finance secretary, principal building construction secretary, Patna University vice-chancellor and the university registrar to personally appear before it on October 28.
A division bench of Justice Navaniti Prasad Singh and Justice Nilu Agrawal passed the order.
The court had taken up the matter suo motu after going through newspaper reports of recovery of bombs from Saidpur hostel during police raid on July 31 this year. Later, it (court) converted the matter into public interest litigation.
Earlier, on October 5, the bench headed by Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari had directed Patna University and the Patna district administration to get Saidpur hostel vacated by October 18. The two parties complied with the court order and filed an affidavit in the court on October 18, stating that both Saidpur and Ambedkar hostels had been completely evacuated.
Varsity counsel Vivekanand Prasad Singh on Tuesday told the court that owing to shortage of funds, the renovation work initiated by the university could not proceed further.
Peeved over the situation, the bench said: "If you (varsity vice-chancellor and registrar) could not improve the condition of the hostel, leave your post."
The court observed: "It is an irony that despite Patna University giving several chief ministers and central ministers, almost all the hostels of the varsity lie in a shambles."
"The condition of most hostels of Patna University, especially those meant for postgraduate students, is hopeless. All along the hostels, you will find broken railings on terraces, leaking roofs, damaged water tanks, contaminated water flowing from taps, stinking toilets and bathrooms, and damaged electrical wiring," social activist Vikas Chandra alias Guddu Baba had informed the court.
Guddu Baba had earlier shown the news clippings to the court regarding recovery of bombs from Saidpur hostel while hearing was in progress in a separate case.
Justice Singh had then directed varsity vice-chancellor Yedla C. Simhadri and registrar Sanjay Kumar Sinha to personally visit the hostel and take stock of the situation.
The last time Saidpur hostel was repaired was in 2006-07 at an estimated cost of Rs 35 lakh.
Saidpur hostel has gained notoriety over the years for nurturing hooligans and becoming a virtual den of anti-social elements. In August this year, a group of unidentified persons from Saidpur Hostel entered the Patna College campus and shot at a student injuring him seriously. The matter came into light once again on July 31 this year, when police recovered five live bombs and explosive materials from Saidpur hostel during a raid. The police had then claimed that the explosives were stored allegedly for carrying out some sort of campus violence. It was then that the high court took the matter suo motu after the bomb recovery news was published in the media.
