Relief to JNU Students: Delhi HC allows students to register at old rates ILW LAW CRITIQUE Fri, Jan 24, 2020, at ,04:24 PM Delhi High Court Single Bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher has granted an interim relief allowing the students who have not registered so far, to do the same within a week, at a fee prevailing before the revision of rates. The court also directed that no late fees be imposed on the students. The court observed that even though the University Administration is saying that there is no difference between the old and the new Hostel Manual for the purpose of allocation of rooms old Hostel Manual shall be referred to deal with reserved category students i.e. the manual that existed before 28th October 2019. The Court also issued notice to the University Administration and directed to file their response to the petitions within 2 weeks. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) had moved the Delhi High Court in order to challenge the amendments made to the Hostel Manual by the University administration, regarding fees and allocations. The petition challenged the decision of the Inter Hostel Administration to increase hostel and other fees by citing that its malafide, arbitrary, illegal and adverse towards the students. The petition has also challenged new provisions in which mess services, sanitation services, room charges, amongst others category of charges will be increased by 10% every academic year. When ASG Pinky Anand, who was appearing for university, mentioned that University revised the fee in order to provide for the salaries of more than 400 persons who are hired on a contractual basis, Justice Shakdher opined that: 'In Public Universities, the burden of paying the salaries to contractual workers can't be put on students. It's the responsibility of the government to find the money for funding the same.' Justice Shakdher said that the solution to the present issue ideally shall come from dialogue. ‘When the dialogue is on, what is the urgency? Why are you (JNU) escalating it? Why weren't the students asked to participate in the meetings? Listen to them, you're still in the majority, you can overrule their decision. You simply can't say that you won't engage. You have to keep the past aside and proceed with the conversations' he stated. The issue will be taken up next on February 28, 2020.