The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the Registrar, Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) to file a statement detailing steps taken in response to a letter sent by the former principal of the School of Engineering seeking arrangement of security for the tech fest held on the campus.
When the writ petition filed by Aloshious Xavier, president, Kerala Students Union (KSU), seeking a judicial inquiry into the stampede at the venue of the fest, which claimed four lives, came up for hearing, the counsel for the varsity submitted that after receiving the letter from former principal Dipak Kumar Sahoo, the Registrar had asked her private secretary to contact the police and arrange security for the event.
However, Mr. Sahoo did not inform her about the holding of the music programme in connection with the fest. In fact, the inquiry committee had found that the police were on duty at the venue. The counsel alleged that the former principal had left everything to students during the fest, and he had bungled. The Registrar would not have granted permission to hold the music programme, had the principal intimated the Registrar about it. The petitioner was targeting the Registrar, he alleged. He also submitted that he would file a statement detailing steps taken in pursuance to the letter of the former principal.
The counsel for the petitioner refuted the submissions of the counsel for the varsity and submitted that the Registrar had been intimated about all the events being planned at the venue, including the music programme, through his letters by the former principal. He submitted that the facts and circumstances that led to the stampede pointed to a collective failure on the part of the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar.
