Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.

Pursuant to notice issued, the additional fourth respondent is personally present in the Court. He is about 20 years of age. He is a Computer Science student of the college concerned and is the Secretary of the SFI Union of the College. The first thing which crosses our mind is whether he goes to the college to indulge in politics or to study, a question which he and his parents must consider, for we hold that in academic institutions, politics or political activities cannot be permitted.

2. The next, we would like to observe is that political activities like Dharna, hunger strikes and other practices like Sathyagrah have no place in a constitutional democracy, much less in academic institutions. Anyone indulging in the said activities in an educational institution would make himself liable to be expelled and/or rusticated. Educational Institutions are meant for imparting education and not politics. By their political ambition the political parties cannot hold to ransom the educational institution or the right of the civilized students to receive education. We would only remind ourselves of what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had said while introducing the Constitution for its adoption to the Constituent Assembly on 25.11.1949:

"If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, what must we do? The first thing in my judgment we must do is to hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. It means we must abandon the bloody methods of revolution. It means that we must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. When there was no way left for constitutional methods of achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us."

3. Learned counsel for the additional fourth respondent submits that students are on Dharna and hunger strike outside the college. Learned counsel for the college with reference to the photographs annexed as A2 shows and draws our attention to the shed erected along the boundary of the college with a banner of a political party with huge loudspeakers. Firstly, it is unauthorised encroachment on public properties which should forthwith be removed by the police. We would like to mention that the Police is there to control the law and order and not to permit such pickets to come up on public property. The right of law abiding citizens to traverse along the footpath or on the roads cannot be obstructed by any political parties for whatever cause it may have.

4. Our attention is then drawn to the photographs on the next page, which clearly shows the students sitting in Dharna inside the college. We would again refer to what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said and noted above. If they have a legitimate grievance, avenues for ventilating them are legally available. There is students council, academic council and there are courts including this Court where appropriate grievances can be raised. Dharnas have no place which would only vitiate the academic atmosphere. We cannot countenance such a thing.

5. We accordingly order that if any student is found to be resorting to and/or enforcing Dharna, strike or disruption of academic atmosphere of any college, the Principal or the authorities of the institution would have a right to rusticate them, for these are no means to ventilate their grievance. If called upon by the college authorities, the police would be under an obligation to assist the authorities in maintaining peace and quiet and orderly conduct of academics in the college premises. It is also made clear that all pickets, tents, stalls, set up in and around the college campus or in its immediate vicinity for facilitating Dharna, hunger strike etc., be fo