Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow, has been witness to a dismal state of affairs for the past six months. The students are leading a movement for the second time and this time, their demand is the resignation of four administrative officers, including the Vice Chancellor.
We have been suffering from the consequences of arbitrary policies of the administration for a long time now. The standards of the University have deteriorated miserably.
The recent incident of alleged sexual harassment by two senior administrative officers of the institution has been the tipping point. The Joint Registrar was caught filming male and female students on campus. When they objected to his conduct, he called up their parents and made false complaints about them being intoxicated and found in a compromising position. One them went on to threaten a female student saying he had a picture of her in his phone in an objectionable position. A petition alleging sexual harassment has been signed by 100 girls of the University.
The Vice Chancellor evaded all responsibility by pleading ignorance to all these incidents, and walked away saying he is not the authority to redress the said grievances or demand the resignations.
The student community has lost all faith in the administration of the University. Being law students, we believe in the sanctity and sacredness of rules and laws. If we, as the future guardians of law do not fight for our rights, what is the hope for anybody in this country?
Therefore, the student body is on an indefinite protest till all our demands are addressed and the accused are brought to justice.
Editor’s Note: According to The Times of India, the officials have responded to the allegations. The first official stated, “I have no clue of any such letter against me. As part of my official assignment, I don’t even interact with students.” The second official alleged that this is a conspiracy spearheaded by teachers, who are manipulating the students.