NEW DELHI: The Delhi University on Monday apprised the Delhi High Court that Congress student wing leader Lokesh Chugh was the ‘mastermind’ behind the screening of the banned BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Responding to Chugh’s petition against his debarment following the incident, the university said the screening was without permission, and the protests by the students despite imposition of prohibitory orders amount to ‘gross indiscipline’.
The action taken against the students were based on the newspaper reports as the documentary has been banned in India, the high court was told. Chugh, a Ph.D. research scholar and NSUI national secretary, in his plea said that at the time of the protests, he was at a media interaction.
He was barred from appearing for exams for one year following the protests and screening of the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ in the university campus on January 27. According to a video footage, he was actively involved in organising the protests, the university submitted, adding that the aim was to disrupt the academic functioning.
“The committee after watching the videos found that the mastermind of the agitation was the petitioner. It was observed that around 20 students gathered to showcase the BBC Documentary and around 50 students were there to watch it,” it was submitted.
The hearing of the issue came up before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav on Monday. However, the judge noted that DU’s response and Chugh’s counter are not on record and asked both the parties to file their written submissions by Tuesday.