East Hostel of Ravenshaw University. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, March 7: The fate of Ravenshaw University’s East Hostel remains caught in a legal vortex as Orissa High Court is yet to deliver its judgment in the case.

The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra had heard arguments and closed hearing in the case on February 1. A decision is pending since then.

For 90 years, the East Hostel has been a boys’ hostel. When the university authorities decided to convert it into a girls’ hostel, it sparked off a row and a PIL was filed on the issue in the high court.

Acting on it, the high court on November 12, 2010, constituted a seven-member committee, headed by Justice (retired) A.K. Parichha to resolve the dispute.

The committee included two senior advocates, two educationists and two representatives of the university’s student union. They had submitted the committee’s report on January 20.

Adjudication of the dispute had apparently turned into a difficult task for the high court as Ravenshaw University challenged the committee’s recommendation for continuance of East Hostel as a boys’ hostel on grounds of it being “non-practicable”.

The two student union representatives in the committee had submitted notes of dissent and the university authorities had filed an affidavit in the court against the committee report saying, “The report appears to be a balanced but in certain areas the said report is found to be non-practicable, more particularly the issue relating to the East Hostel.”

The committee had observed: “Since East Hostel has already been renovated as a boys’ hostel by spending a huge amount of money, hence it may be allowed to continue as boys’ hostel.

The boarders of other boys’ hostel and some students who are awaiting hostel accommodation may be shifted to East Hostel and the vacated hostel may be renovated as a girls’ hostel,” the committee had observed in its report.

But the university authorities had contended: “Had the peace committee visited the girls’ hostel and discussed the issue with the girl students, probably they would not have suggested allotting the East Hostel to the boys.”

According to the affidavit, 1,220 girls had been adjusted against 871 beds. Application for hostel accommodation for 250 girls was still pending. So, not only East Hostel but also two more hostels were required for the girls.

“The reason for giving the East Hostel in favour of the girls is that all the other girls’ hostels are situated in the eastern side of the university and if the renovated East Hostel is given to the girls, then an en-block can be made for the safety and security of the female students,” the affidavit said while rubbishing the grievance that the hostel’s status should not be changed for the sake of tradition.

The committee on the other hand had recommended direction to the Ravenshaw University administration “to send proposal and estimate immediately to the state government for construction of two multi-storeyed hostels on the university campus and then state government may be directed to allocate necessary funds for the same so that construction of both the hostels can be completed within a period of two years”.