New Delhi, March 9: Delhi High Court today directed police to secure a 100-metre area around the JNU administrative block and ensure access to the building to all officials.

A student group had last month blockaded the building for 17 days in protest against new admission norms that might reduce the number of seats for researchers.

The varsity had filed a writ urging police intervention to prevent protests at the block. Today, a PTI report said, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva directed the police to ensure that vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar and other officials were not stopped from entering or exiting the administrative block and prohibited protests within 100 metres of the building.

The police have been asked to use its personnel, if necessary.

Justice Sachdeva asked JNU student union leaders to be present at the next hearing. "I feel the issue, instead of being strictly adjudicated, should be resolved by way of dialogue, mediation and counselling," the judge said.

JNU's counsel Monika Arora said: "The existing rules, of prohibiting protests within 20 metres of buildings, were made when JNU was located on the smaller old campus. Since 1989, it is on a large campus and the administrative block has 30 departments, at least a 100-metre distance for protests is required. Soon after the blockade, a group of students tried to illegally confine the VC and that's why the police have to deploy personnel to prevent such incidents."

The police yesterday filed an FIR naming 22 students of the group, based on a complaint of the registrar accusing them of wrongfully restraining the VC and insulting him to provoke breach of peace on February 28, a day after the blockade was lifted. The students are alleged to have prevented medical staff from attending to the VC.

The offences are cumulatively punishable with up to three years in prison.