JNUSU leaders 'illegally debarred' from academic council meeting pending inquiry for indiscipline; students call move 'baseless'

New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Tuesday alleged that their office-bearers have been “illegally debarred” from attending the upcoming academic council meeting on Friday by the varsity administration. The students’ union claimed that it is mandated in the JNU statutes that the JNUSU office bearers are special invitees to the Academic Council (AC). [caption id=“attachment_4711381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of JNUSU president Geeta Kumari. IANS[/caption] “However, in an utterly bizarre move, the JNU administration has informed the JNUSU that it will be debarred from attending the upcoming Academic Council meeting on 13 July due to an ongoing inquiry against them for an alleged act of indiscipline in the last AC meeting,” the JNUSU said in a statement. The JNUSU would wish to communicate to the administration that no such inquiry has been instituted or nothing regarding any such inquiry has been intimated to the office bearers, they said. It is therefore utterly baseless for the administration to keep the JNUSU out, which is a representative body of all JNU students, the statement said. “The JNU administration continues to display its blatant disregard for conducting the affairs of the university in a democratic manner and in consonance with the JNU Act,” it said. The administration’s wilful neglect and its illegal means to curtail student representation is condemnable and will be challenged by the JNUSU unless this decision to keep the union office-bearers out of the AC is taken back immediately, the statement added. “I am directed to inform you that the representatives of Students’ Union have not been invited to the forthcoming meeting of the Academic Council on 13 July as special invitees due to a pending proctoral inquiry against them for creating disruptions by marching up to the dais and using abusive language against the vice-chancellor,” a letter from the registrar said, claimed JNUSU. However, the JNU administration could not be contacted for its reaction.