New Delhi: Over 200 students at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) in Patiala, Punjab are protesting against Vice Chancellor Dr Jai Shankar Singh, accusing him of “inappropriate and sexist behaviour” after he allegedly inspected the girls’ hostel rooms without prior notice or consent, thereby “infringing on their privacy”.
In response to the protests, according to the notice issued by the university administration, students were invited to meet with committee members Monday afternoon. However, when no students attended, the administration announced the university’s closure until further notice, allowing those who wished to return home to leave.
Students told ThePrint that for the first time, the administration also sent notices to parents, allegedly in an attempt to defuse the protest.
The protests began Sunday evening, when students gathered outside the V-C’s residence. “How can he enter the girls’ hostel like that when even our own parents aren’t allowed?” one student, whose room the V-C had inspected, told ThePrint.
ThePrint reached out the V-C for a comment via call, but did not receive any response.
According to the student, the V-C first came to the hostel mess, sat with the girls and asked about the food. “He then went into a nearby room, asked the girls what they were studying, and started suggesting they study from different books,” the student said.
“When he entered my room, he asked me and my roommate our names and where we were from. He inquired if we had any issues. I told him the main issue was his presence in the hostel. He said he was there to inspect the hostels after receiving complaints about smoking and alcohol,” she recounted.
The student further questioned why female staff weren’t handling the matter. “I told him it would be more appropriate for female staff to address this, not him. He replied that female faculty and a guard were with him. I said that wasn’t enough, and at the very least, we should have been given prior notice. He responded, saying, ‘You’re like my daughters, I’m not misbehaving with you’.”
Another student told ThePrint about a troubling incident during the V-C’s visit. “In one of the rooms, a girl had just returned from a shower. She was in her bathrobe when this happened, which was a complete violation of her consent,” the student said.
“No male faculty member has ever been allowed inside the girls’ hostels. This is a rule that has always been strictly followed,” the student added. “The girl specifically told him not to enter, but he still barged in, going where he had no business being.”
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‘Inappropriate remarks’
In addition to the protests, the students have also sent a “representation letter” to the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the ex-officio chancellor of the university, demanding the V-C’s resignation. The same letter has been sent to the National Commission for Women, Punjab State Human Rights Commission, National Human Rights Commission, Punjab State Women Commission and University Grants Commission.
ThePrint has accessed a copy of the letter.
“The incident of the Vice Chancellor entering the rooms of first-year students (batch of 2029) in the girls’ hostel is deeply deplorable and unbefitting of the office of the Vice Chancellor,” read the letter.
According to the students, this incident was the “tipping point”, following a series of inappropriate actions in the past that ultimately led them to protest against the V-C.
The letter outlines several alarming comments allegedly made by him, including questioning students’ financial capacity: “If you don’t have the means, why did you even seek admission at such a prestigious university?”
The letter claimed that he also often criticised their academic choices, saying, “Good-for-nothing students like you enrol in high-level courses while fully aware of your family’s financial situation. Why didn’t you just pursue a three-year BA instead?”
Moreover, the V-C reportedly suggested that female students should choose easier topics, like domestic violence or marriage: “As a girl, you should stay home and study those subjects instead of complicating things with challenging topics.”
Also commenting on a female student’s clothing, he allegedly remarked, “Do your parents give you money to wear those clothes? The clothes you wear come from the hard-earned money of your parents.”
The students also expressed their concerns about police constables being present on campus. “Even though our protest was completely peaceful, the police still arrived,” one student said. “The Vice Chancellor denied that they called them, but it’s impossible for the police to enter the university at 2 am without the administration’s knowledge and a written order. The constables themselves told us that they were called here.”
The students noted that the Vice Chancellor engaged in a brief two-minute conversation with them, during which he apologised and claimed, “You all are like my daughters, so there’s no chance I would do anything wrong.” They said they found this statement completely absurd.
When the students demanded his resignation, he simply returned inside. Although he apologised to them at the moment, a few hours later, they received an email stating that the V-C had conducted a routine visit. “There was nothing routine about this visit,” one student emphasised. “In the history of RGNUL, no such visits have ever been considered routine.”
This is not the first instance of such protests at RGNUL. In 2019, students had organised similar demonstrations against the university’s then-chief administrative officer, Captain (retd) S.P. Singh due to his use of “derogatory language” towards women students.
The students have also called for the swift establishment of the RGNUL Student Bar Association to address ongoing and future concerns of the student community. Additionally, they have sought the formation of an Internal Complaints Committee to take appropriate action regarding the issues raised.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)