Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court Division Bench has set aside a controversial single-judge bench order mandating a Noida university student to publicly stand with a placard for 30 days as punishment, terming it “unjustified” and “humiliating.” The February 4 ruling by Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra warns such measures could leave a “permanent scar” on the student’s character.
The case dates back to March 2023, when the Noida International University rusticated the student over allegations of misbehaving with female students from another institution. He challenged the expulsion in the high court. On October 29, 2025, Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery’s bench set aside the rustication, allowing reinstatement but imposing strict conditions.
Among them was a direction which required the student to stand daily at the campus gate from 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. for 30 consecutive days starting November 3, 2025, holding a placard reading, “I will never misbehave with any girl.” The university was directed to re-rusticate him for non-compliance.
The student petitioned the division bench, with counsel arguing the penalty was “excessively humiliating” and risked a “perpetual, damaging impact” on his reputation and career prospects.
In its order dated February 4, the Division Bench said, “We are firmly of the opinion that the nature of the direction is not justified under any circumstances. A direction of such nature is not only humiliating but would also cast a permanent scar on the character of the appellant, which… is not called for.”
The verdict reinstates the student without the placard requirement, closing the matter.
