JOIN USA year has passed since 18-year-old Jishnu Pranoy was found hanging in the toilet of his college hostel. The first-year Computer Science student at the Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre in Pampady in Thrissur district had committed suicide due to what was reported as mental and physical harassment by college authorities, after he was allegedly caught cheating during an examination.
The incident set off protests across Kerala, political posturing and an extended legal battle that pushed, successfully, for a CBI investigation. More critically, Jishnu's death also unearthed a series of horror stories from other colleges in the state where students were being cornered to submission, and their rights repeatedly denied, by the managers and staff of these institutions.
Amid protests against excessive administrative controls in self-financing colleges, a group of law students in Kochi decided to go beyond the outrage. They formed a collective to help students who face harassment and exploitation at their institutions.
A year since it was launched, the Legal Collective for Students' Rights (LCSR) is intervening in a host of issues, ranging from arbitrary fee hikes to discrimination against women through hostel regulations.
Arjun P K, who initiated groundwork on the collective, is a fourth-year law student at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) in Kochi. As someone who was involved in the students' movement mobilised after Jishnu's death, Arjun studied extreme measures being adopted in the Nehru college to "discipline" students, including a torture room.
"In the name of college rules, personal liberty was being undermined. But there was also this issue of accountability, since the students were not willing to come out in the open. They were all reluctant to move the court and expose the college management," says Arjun.
Arjun and his friends Kenneth Joe Cleetus, J Sreenath and Anisha V R started working on a plan for the proposed collective, along with other law students. Help also came from Citizens for Constitutional Governance, an NGO with practising lawyers as its members.
Student raises issue
"Typically, a student raises an issue with us through WhatsApp, a message on Facebook or the slot provided on our website (lcsr.org.in). We discuss the matter internally and get back to the student in 24 hours. If we decide to take the case forward, we consult with our team of lawyers and based on their inputs, decide on the available options. The only cost involved for the student here is the court fee; we provide our service free," says Arjun, executive director of the collective.
Kenneth is the legal consultant at LCSR, Sreenath is the Communications in-charge and Anisha is Associate Director. Lettisha L S handles research for the collective. The mission, as the team calls it, is to educate students about the rights they hold and how they can exercise them.
Through its research programmes, the collective aims to counter a serious impediment the absence of a strong policy that can ensure protection of student rights.
LCSR operates with a team of 30 members, four lawyers and a team of advisors. It has three chapters, in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Arjun maintains that the collective does not engage in mediation between parties to bring cases to a conclusion.
"We are only here to play the role of lawyers, offering assistance to the aggrieved so that they are heard better. For instance, we help in drafting proper representations. To take up a case, we need the affected party to stand up and back his or her word; we can't act on reported instances," says Arjun.
The collective has provided assistance in over 100 cases in a year, all involving college students. It has filed writ petitions in the High Court in five cases and secured favourable orders in two; verdicts on the other three cases are awaited.
At a time violation of students' rights is emerging as a recurring theme in different parts of the country, LCSR also hopes to play a role outside of Kerala.
"There have been enquiries from other states regarding our work. We could partner with like-minded groups and branch out but it will take time, at least a year," says Arjun.
The collective is open to cases of ragging in colleges but has not intervened in one, so far. A rise in the number of incidents involving regressive policies followed by educational institutions also accentuates the relevance of initiatives like LCSR.
One of the cases that it is actively involved in pertains to alleged discrimination against girls at the Sri Kerala Varma College in Thrissur.
Anjitha Jose, a third-year BA English student, has moved the Kerala High Court stating that the restrictions in timing stipulated for girls of the college hostel are discriminatory and violated fundamental rights.
The petitioner contended that time restrictions at the hostel the schedule allows only one hour to two-and-half hours for activities outside of the hostel kept girls "unduly restrained within the campus under the pretence of safety issues". The case points to gender-based discrimination, considering that the rules are not applicable to boys in the hostel, she argued.
Fears over legal complications continue to hold many students back from opening up on troubles with their college administrators. The LCSR experience, however, also shows that after Jishnu's death, more students are coming out in dissent. "It's about knowing your rights. If Jishnu had known his, he wouldn't have done what he did," says Arjun.
Krishnakumar R in Thiruvananthapuram