Female students at Savitribai Phule Pune University’s main campus have objected to a 10:30 pm return deadline at the girls’ hostel, saying the rule limits their access to the Jaykar Library and creates unequal conditions compared with students living in the boys’ hostel.
The dispute followed an alleged moral-policing incident outside the girls’ hostel in which two male students questioned a female student about why she was outside at night and whether she had obtained a late-night pass. The university subsequently filed a first information report against the two men for criminal trespass after they allegedly entered the girls’ hostel gate illegally and argued with hostel staff.
Students from the girls’ hostel held a protest at a police station before the FIR was filed. They have argued that the incident was linked to the existence of a gender-specific curfew and that equal rules for male and female students would reduce the scope for residents to be questioned about their movements.
Tanishka Bhandari, a student in the public health department and a member of the Students Federation of India, said female students were demanding the same rights as male students. She said the incident could have been avoided if there had been no hostel return deadline that required women students to obtain permission to remain outside later at night.
Bhandari also pointed to the operating hours of the Jaykar Library, which remains open until midnight. Female students who want to use the library until that time must obtain a late pass from the hostel, while students in the boys’ hostel do not face the same restriction, according to the report.
Hetavi, a student in the women and gender studies department, said the rule was difficult to accept because she had previously lived without restrictions on returning home at night. She said women students should be able to visit their campus after 10:30 pm and access facilities for which they pay. Pratiksha Navale, a political science student, described the different rules as unequal treatment.
Sumedh Chandanshive, an MBA student living in the boys’ hostel and a member of the University Student Struggle Action Committee, confirmed that boys did not face comparable restrictions. He said the university’s responsibility was to make the campus safe rather than impose different movement rules on women students.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad said it supported return-time restrictions if they were applied equally to both hostels. Nidhi Narang, the organisation’s Pune city joint secretary, said students living on campus should follow common rules to maintain decorum and safety.
Professor Geeta Shinde, who was recently appointed additional rector of the girls’ hostel after the previous office-bearer resigned, said the Vice Chancellor had constituted a committee to examine the incident and the student protest. She said the hostel time restriction would also be discussed by the committee, with inputs from students. The committee’s recommendations and any decision on changing the existing rules remain pending.
