KOCHI: A college student from Kozhikode, who was asked to vacate her hostel room for using mobile phone between 6 pm and 10pm, has approached the High Court seeking to declare the restriction null and void. In her petition, Faheema Shirin RK, a third-semester BA English student at Sree Narayana Guru College, Chelannur, Kozhikode, said the restriction violated students’ fundamental rights.
She submitted that the hostel authorities had amended the rules on June 24 to restrict the use of mobile phones between 6 pm and 10 pm. The move, she said, denied students access to information available online and hampered their learning process. Undergraduate students were also prohibited from using laptops in hostel, Faheema said, adding she failed to get a positive response from the deputy warden when she informed the latter of the inconvenience the curbs were causing.
As per Faheema’s petition, she approached the principal on July 3 seeking a relaxation in the rule. The principal, however, refused her request. The hostel warden later asked her to submit a letter stating she was unwilling to abide by the hostel rules. On July 5, her parents were summoned and told Faheema should vacate the hostel as she had refused to adhere to the hostel rules. On July 8, the principal and the deputy warden of the hostel convened a meeting of the hostel inmates and asked them to submit a letter expressing their willingness to follow the rules. On July 11, Faheema was asked to vacate the hostel within 12 hours.
She said following her expulsion from the hostel, she had to travel 150 km per day from Vadakara to attend classes. “No such restrictions are imposed on students in the boys’ hostel.
Hence, this amounts to discrimination on the basis of gender, which violates Article 15 of the Constitution,” Faheema submitted. She said Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac had, while presenting the budget for 2017-18, announced the state had recognised the ‘Right to Internet’ as a human right and had taken steps to make it accessible to all citizens. She sought to declare the restrictions on use of mobile phones a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14, 19 and 21 of Constitution.