Delhi HC orders DU officials to address Law Faculty amenities

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has asked the Delhi University authorities to convene a meeting of stakeholders within a week on the availability of water coolers/purified drinking water and infrastructure such as WiFi for students at the Faculty of Law and to file a report.

A vacation bench of Justice Amit Sharma also issued notices to the Bar Council of India secretary and the university’s dean of students’ welfare on the petition by three law students, raising concerns over the lack of basic amenities and infrastructure on campus.

The counsel appearing for the Delhi University assured the court that necessary provisions with regards to water cooler/drinking water are available on the campus.

Justice Sharma opined that the Bar Council of India and the dean of students’ welfare are necessary parties to the petition and also appointed advocate Rajesh Mishra as amicus curiae.

“Keeping in view the issues raised in the present petition, it is imperative that a meeting be convened amongst all the stakeholders, ie, dean of students’ welfare of Delhi University, dean (Faculty of Law), petitioner No 2 and the learned amicus curiae appointed by this court with regard to assessing the facilities provided to the students with regard to the water coolers/provision for purified drinking water as well as the other infrastructural facilities, including the availability of WiFi services,” the court said in its order on June 12.

“Let the meeting be convened with the mutual convenience of the parties within one week from today ... and a report with regard to the same be placed on record before the next date of hearing,” it ordered.

Besides water and WiFi, the petitioners Ronak Khatri, Ankur Singh Mavi and Umesh Kumar also raised concern over lack of air conditioning in classrooms, saying conditions become “unbearable” when temperatures in Delhi reach up to 48 degrees Celsius during the summer months.

The plea highlights resource disparity, noting multiple air conditioners in administrative offices while students suffer in a third building with tin roofs and asbestos walls, leading to frequent heat strokes and fainting.

It also cites a lack of clean drinking water, forcing students to buy packaged water, and inadequate washroom maintenance. These deficiencies, it argues, create an unsafe and non-conducive learning environment, violating the fundamental rights to life and education under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

The next hearing is scheduled for July 4.