Expelled students of IIT Roorkee staged a sit-in on the campus on Thursday morning after their hopes of the expulsion order being struck by the judiciary were dashed with the Nainital High Court having dismissed the petition filed by 64 of the 72 expelled students.
Showing empathy with the expelled students, other students of IIT Roorkee and activists and leaders of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), BJP's student wing, too joined the agitation. They said they would continue with the stir till the institution's authority revokes the order of expulsion.
The students said they might file a special appeal in the High Court, seeking vacation of the ruling.
The Nainital High Court on Wednesday dismissed the writ petition filed by 64 expelled students, challenging their expulsion. Notably, IIT administration had expelled 72 students of B Tech course who scored less than 5 point CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) in their examination on 9 July.
However, the two expelled students- Anurag Memrot and Mohhamad Saif Anwer- got relief from the High Court which stated in its ruling that they "stand on a different footing and cannot be debarred from reappearing in the examination along with the third and fourth semester respectively, in terms of 18(2) of the Regulations".
Asked about their next move, the visibly upset students said it is unfair that the court has proved 'kinder' to two out of the 66 students who had filed the petition. Students added that they have planned to file a special appeal in High Court.
Prashant Garg, registrar IIT Roorkee, said in mid-June, the students who had scored less than 5 had been sent a notice of expulsion by the institute.
They were given time to file what the institute termed a "mercy appeal". He added that the decision to expel them was taken after considering their mercy appeal, which was rejected by the apex academic body of the institute. Garg further added that at the time of admission, the parents of the students give a written undertaking that states that poor performance could lead to expulsion of the students.
The rule mandating expulsion of students who scored less than 5 points on the 10 point scale of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) for two consecutive semesters was framed last year by the premier autonomous institute to ensure 'quality education'.