Male students at Himachal Pradesh National Law University (HPNLU), Shimla have been asked to vacate their current hostels at short notice and relocate to University-rented hostels 5 kilometers away from the campus.
The notice dated September 11 directs students to relocate to the New Sood Hostel by September 13. It reads,
"With the approval of the Competent authority, all residents of Sood Boys Hostel are hereby informed that the hostel operations are being shifted to the New Sood Building, Galog Hostel with effect from Saturday, i.e. 13-09-2025."
Just three weeks into the academic semester, the relocation comes less than a month before mid-semester exams.
Speaking with Bar & Bench, Dean of Students Welfare at HPNLU Dr Sachin Sharma said,
"The total student intake for the academic session 2025–26 remains the same as in the previous academic session. However, under unforeseen circumstances, the percentage of female students this time is nearly 70%, which was earlier 45 to 50%."
Upon being asked HPNLU's solution for overcrowded hostels, he said,
"The new Girls’ Hostel is in the final stages of completion. The said hostel was supposed to be handed over by the month of July 2025 but due to weather conditions and other reasons it got delayed. Now the expected time to hand over the same is in the month of December 2025."
As per a seat matrix for 2025-26, HPNLU has an intake of 120 B.A LL.B. students and 60 B.B.A LL.B. students.
After seats remained vacant, the University issued an online on-spot admission notice, inviting 12 more admissions for the B.B.A LL.B. course.
Currently, a bus transport service plies between the campus and the New Sood Hostel, though students have raised concerns about the timings and convenience.
Students had approached the administration to request a delayed moving schedule and for student-friendly bus timings, to no avail. Speaking with Bar & Bench, a student said,
"The campus gym is located 7km from the new hostel. The new hostel lacks security and is in a forested area. For security, there is a warden and a guard, and sometimes the warden is absent."
Due to the increased intake of students, the administration has repurposed visitor rooms, mess areas and warden residences to accommodate new female students.
Corrigendum: An earlier version of this article stated that the relocation of male students at HPNLU was due to increased admitted intake. However, the total intake remains unchanged; the shift was necessitated by a higher percentage of female students admitted this year. The article has been updated to reflect this.
[Read notice]