District Magistrate Mr. Quraishi, requested them to prevail upon the students to stop their unlawful activities, to refrain from interference with traffic on the public highway and to refrain from violating section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. When the Vice-Chancellor approached the students whose number he estimated at 1,000 or so. at first they asked him to lead their procession in violation of the order. He proposed that they might hold a meeting, pass a resolution and then disperse. The students met this proposal with a request for him to give them a lead in the matter and preside over the meeting. He did not agree. But he said he was prepared to associate with them if they gave him a guarantee that they would behave peacefully and disperse peacefully after the meeting. The guarantee was never given though some of the leading students tried without success to prevail upon the general body of students. The Vice Chancellor refused to accept the students- suggestion that he should act according to the decision of the meeting. It was abundantly clear that the students were in no mood to listen to any reasonable suggestions and had obviously made up their minds to violate the orders under section 144 of the Code.
21. The meeting which was held inside the University compound broke up at about 11 a.m. The students then “terribly excited" according to Dr. Zuberi, took possession of the University gate and according to the statements of the Vice-Chancellor and his two colleagues they began to emerge from the gate in small batches of 5, 7 or 10 at a time in order to court arrest by the Police. The police witnesses stated that they came out in batches of 25 or 30. The University authorities stated that the students went out of the gate as their names were called from a roster-list in a note-book-a circumstance which establishes beyond doubt that the “meeting" was merely a specious pretence, the students had made all preparations beforehand for their defiance of section 144 and had selected the names of the students who were to defy the order and had arranged the order in which particular students were to leave the University premises for that purpose. As the students emerged through the University gate the Police arrested them-ignoring the girl students- and indeed some of the students of their own accord climbed into the vehicles, which were to convey them to the police stations. In all 91 persons were arrested and by that time all available accommodation in the police vehicles had been filled up and the Police were in the embarrassing position of not being able to remove any more persons under arrest. Sensing this embarrassment the crowd became more truculent and began to throw brickbats at the Police. The Police had to make further arrangement in the disposition of their forces. Some constables had to be sent in order to escort the students who had been arrested. The Additional S.P. City, was sent to the Assembly House in order to guard the same as it was reported that the students intended to stage a march on the Assembly House and a gas squad was brought to the University gate. At this time the disposition of the police force was as follows:—
At the University gate one Inspector, one Sub-Inspector, one head constable, 6 constables of the S. A. F., one head constable and 4 constables armed with lathis and 14 constables of the gas squad. At the Madical College gate there was the D. S. P., City, one head constable and the 10 constables of the S.A.F. At the Assembly House corner there was the Additional S.P., City, 3 Sergeants, one Sub-Inspector and 2 head constables and
