Nagpur: Students at Nagpur’s Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) launched a protest over management’s alleged failure to act on repeated complaints of eve-teasing. The students claimed that the code of conduct at MNLU is suppressing their constitutional right to peaceful protest.According to the representation, female students have repeatedly complained of eve-teasing near the campus and hostels. They further alleged non-resident men and contractual workers have been seen loitering around hostel premises and behaving inappropriately in common areas.At the centre of the protest, though, is the students’ allegation that the university’s Academic Code of Conduct (ACOC) is being used to silence dissent. In their memorandum, students claimed provisions of the code effectively brand peaceful protests as misconduct, discouraging them from raising legitimate grievances.They also alleged that faculty members noted names of students who questioned the administration during open-house meetings, creating an atmosphere of intimidation. The students argued that a law university should protect democratic values instead of penalising students themselves.MNLU registrar Deepak Bhagwat did not respond to TOI’s calls or messages seeking his response. According to sources, MNLU officials said the issues raised by the students would be considered and remedial action would be taken. However, the protesting students rejected the response lacking any sort of commitment and announced that their protest would continue on Tuesday.
