The Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai on Tuesday ordered several PhD scholars to vacate their campus accommodations within 24 hours, reported The Wire.

The institute’s hostel facility is provided primarily to students from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes, according to the news website.

In the notice issued to the PhD students, the institute said they had been enrolled more than five years ago.

“You are very well aware that this institute is a public university and all students are entitled, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, for allotment of hostel rooms so that there is no hindrance in pursuing their higher education,” the notice read, reported The Wire.

While a PhD typically takes nearly five years to complete, the scholars argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the process several times over. They have been unable to finish writing their theses due to delays in completing fieldwork.

“They claim we have occupied the space for over five years,” an unidentified student told The Wire. “That is a blatant lie. Soon after the Covid-19 pandemic broke [out], the campus went under complete lockdown and for over two and a half years, we were back in our villages.”

Most students said they had stayed on campus for only three to three-and-a-half years, The Wire reported.

The students said they had also been served eviction notices in April and June. However, they told the administration that they were in the crucial stages of finishing their theses and explained their difficulties in vacating the hostel.

“In June, the administration even assured us an extension until September,” said a student. “But suddenly this eviction notice arrived.”

They also claimed that those who received the notices were among the most vocal students who frequently questioned the administration.

“It seems like they want to get rid of politically-conscious and vocal students,” The Wire quoted a student as saying. “Overstay is just a flimsy excuse for this eviction.”

After receiving the notices, the students met M Mariappan, the dean of student affairs at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Mariappan told them that he could not intervene in the matter as “the decision this time has come from higher authorities”, according to The Wire.

The students have told the dean that they plan to continue staying on campus till September.

“As you are aware, we are all from outside Mumbai and come from socially marginalised backgrounds,” the students wrote. “It is not feasible for us to vacate within 24 hours and search for alternative accommodation.”

Reacting to the development, Supriya Sule, leader of the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, said that it was unfair to order the students to leave when they were in the final stages of writing their theses.

“The administration of Tata Institute of Social Sciences also needs to consider this issue,” the MP from Maharashtra’s Baramati constituency wrote on social media.