Pune: SPPU Students Protest Hostel Eviction Amid Heavy Rain; University Says Action Taken Against Illegal Occupation

Pune, 4th July 2026: Students residing in Hostel No. 9 and other hostels at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) staged a protest outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office on Saturday amid continuous rain in the city, alleging that the university administration was forcing them to vacate their rooms ahead of the upcoming NET-SET examinations.

Braving heavy rain, the students held a sit-in demonstration, claiming the eviction drive had disrupted their exam preparations and caused mental distress at a crucial time.

According to the protesting students, they should be focusing on their studies with the examinations approaching, but were instead being asked to vacate their hostel rooms during the monsoon. They alleged that the decision would adversely affect both their academic performance and mental well-being.

The students also claimed they had been waiting outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office for over an hour, but no senior university official came forward to meet them or address their grievances. They accused the administration of being insensitive to students’ concerns and demanded that the eviction process be halted until the examinations conclude.

However, the university administration rejected the students’ version of events, stating that the action was taken to reclaim rooms that had been occupied illegally.

In an official statement, SPPU said it had found that some unidentified persons had unlawfully occupied rooms in Hostel No. 9 after allegedly breaking the locks installed by the university. Following this, officials from the hostel administration and the university’s security department carried out a joint operation to regain possession of the rooms.

The university acknowledged that some student organisations were protesting outside the main administrative building over the issue. It added that further action would be taken in coordination with the police.

The contrasting claims by the students and the university have brought the dispute into focus, with the students maintaining that they were being unfairly evicted before the NET-SET examinations, while the administration insists that its action was aimed solely at removing unauthorised occupants from the hostel.