Plea seeking to forbear anti-CAA protests on varsity, school

: The Madras High Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre and Tamil Nadu government on a PIL petition seeking to forbear anti-CAA protests by students inside campuses of universities and schools in the state.

A division bench of Justices M Sathyananarayanan and R Hemalatha was hearing a plea by Varaaki, founder-president of Indian Makkal Mandram, an NGO, who contended that the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, were causing law and order problems and resulting in hardship to the general public.

The petitioner, while referring to agitations carried out against CAA by various outfits inside the University of Madras campus, alleged Ramu Manivannan, head, department of Political and Public Administration and Abdul Rahman, head, Centre for Islamic Studies, were supporting the students indirectly.

The petitioner said the agitation had spread across the state and students of other colleges and schools were adversely affected.

He prayed for appropriate directions forbearing educational institutions from allowing unlawful agitations, protests, dharnas by students inside university and school premises.

The bench issued the notice returnable by March 2.