New Delhi: The suspended editor of a student e-zine banned by St Stephen's Principal Valson Thampu on Thursday moved court seeking a stay on the action against him taken by the college on disciplinary grounds.
In a writ petition filed before Delhi High Court, Devansh Mehta sought "quashing of the order banning/suspending publication of the St Stephen's Weekly, stay on the suspension order and restraining the principal from taking any further action against him".
Mehta, a third-year Philosophy student and editor of the banned e-zine, was yesterday suspended till April 23 after a one-man inquiry committee appointed by the principal found him guilty of violating disciplinary norms of the college.
"After the one-man inquiry committee (led by Professor SR Ayde) found the student concerned guilty of a serious breach, I discussed the matter with Ayde on the appropriate course of action. He suggested that a lenient view be taken and the matter be closed provided the person concerned is willing to express his regret and tender an apology," Thampu told a news agency.
"I requested Ayde, on the grounds that he is the senior tutor, to counsel the student concerned. His patient efforts failed and the student persisted with the posture of defiance," he added.
Mehta has also requested in his petition that he be awarded the Rai Saheb Banarsi Das Memorial Prize, for which he was earlier selected by the college faculty before being later dropped from the list in the wake of the controversy.
He was to have received the prize from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who will be the Chief Guest at the college's graduation ceremony on April 18.
As per the suspension order, Mehta will not be able to attend the graduation ceremony now.
"The person whose name the prize commemorates did care for 'behaviour', as the college too does. Recommending a student who has been indicted for undisciplined behaviour is an insult to the dead person as it is to the living college," Thampu said.
Mehta had along with three other students started an e-zine, 'St Stephen's Weekly', which went live on March 7 and registered over 2,000 hits on an interview of Thampu, following which the principal ordered a ban on the publication for not taking his clearance on the content.
The move had invited criticism from reputed college alumni, including former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi and former Delhi Lokayukta, Justice (retd) Manmohan Sarin, who had requested Thampu to reconsider a decision that was termed 'extreme' and 'disproportionate'.
Thampu had appointed a one-man disciplinary committee to look into the matter which, in its report submitted last week, had defended the principal's action after finding the students guilty of violating the college's disciplinary norms.
The three other students, however, chose to apologise to Thampu and were against Mehta's decision to report the matter to the media.
