Thirty-three women students studying in Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam, have filed a petition at the Kerala High Court challenging the 6.30 pm hostel curfew for women students, stating that it was a case of gender discrimination and a violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. They sought the court to direct the college to fix the curfew at 9.30 pm. The case is listed for hearing by Justice Basant Balaji on Friday, August 11.
The petitioners contended that the curfew of 6.30 pm for women students was discriminatory and argued that imposing the curfew did not fall under the jurisdiction of the college. They cited the Government Order (GO) issued by the state government in 2019, which had fixed the curfew timings in women’s hostels of all colleges in Kerala until 9.30 pm. The curfew timing of 9.30 pm was extended to other facilities in the college, including libraries, sports and laboratories.
The students said that the college’s curfew timing of 6.30 pm is in violation of these GO. They have also alleged that they were threatened to be expelled. "Under the pretext of implementing discipline in the College, the College cannot impose such restrictions preventing the liberty of the students to move in and outside the college campus," they said in their petition. The petition has been filed through advocates V Harish, Rajan Vishnuraj, AL Navaneeth Krishnan, and Aswathy Krishnan.