The Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered the shutdown of all student union offices in colleges and universities across West Bengal [Sayan Banerjee v State of West Bengal and Anr].

A Division Bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De said that the rooms will remain shut till the time student elections are held.

Such rooms cannot be used for any activity and in case of an urgent need, an application must be submitted to the university registrar with valid reasons, the Court added.

The Bench passed the order while dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocate Sayan Banerjee.

He highlighted that the recent gang rape of a law student in the South Kolkata Law College partially took place in a room belonging to the college's student union.

The plea further said that the main accused in the case, Monojit Mishra, had been carrying out activities in the name of the students' union of South Calcutta Law College.

It stated that even though no student union elections have been held in West Bengal since 2017, the union offices continue to operate unlawfully, often by former students and unelected individuals.

"All student union offices are continuing their operations without any sanction or provision of law. The matter of concern is that students or office bearers or class representatives who were elected or nominated at the time when the last election or selection was conducted are still entering the campus by virtue of their previous post in the student union," the plea said.