SHIBANI BOSE Vs. PROMOTHA NATH BANERJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Charter for an appropriate writ for cancellation of an order passed against the petitioner on 14th September 1951 under Regulation 26 (a) of Chapter 23 of the University; regulations and for certain other directions.

(2.) The petitioner is a Master of Arts of the University of Calcutta and was admitted as a student of the University Law College in the year 1950. In 1951 the petitioner was a student in Section 'A' in the Second year class of the said University Law College. It is alleged in the petition that as such student the petitioner was entitled to attend lectures delivered in the said College and to take her seat in the class rooms without any restriction whatsoever, but in July 1951 Prof. Uma Prosad Mukherjee in violation of the petitioner's fundamental rights directed the petitioner to occupy a seat in a particular bench and not to use any other seat whatsoever or to sit beside any male students in the class room. It is further alleged that although this was an encroachment on the fundamental right of the petitioner and on her personal liberty the said Professor continued his unreasonable demands and threatened to expel the petitioner from the class room and if necessary from the institution. The petitioner did not however comply with the direction of the professor. The Professor thereupon referred the matter to the Principal and the Governing body of the Law College. On the 14th September 1951 the petitioner received a letter from the Principal of the Law College addressed to her, to the following effect:

(3.) It is alleged in the petition that no opportunity was given to the petitioner for making any representation before the Principal or the governing body of the college before the said order was passed and the petitioner was condemned unheard. It is further stated that the procedure adopted by the governing body and the Principal was contrary to natural justice and so the order served on the petitioner on the 14th September 1951 was bad.