What the Calcutta HC Judgement on Closure of Union Rooms in Colleges Overlooks
Suman Nath | 23 July 2025 | The Wire
In a recent directive, the Calcutta high court ordered the Department of Higher Education in West Bengal to shut down union rooms in colleges and universities where no elections have been held for years. This measure comes after a horrific rape case at a law college in South Kolkata exposed the deep-rooted political rot within campuses. This disturbing case was not an exception, but rather the culmination of a long-standing system of impunity backed by political networks and institutional decay.
The court’s decision to close union rooms is important as a corrective step. But this move, while symbolically significant, risks becoming a superficial remedy unless it addresses the embedded political patronage and organisational networks that permeate campuses…