The Calcutta University on Thursday awarded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the Doctor of Letters degree during its convocation ceremony at the Nazrul Mancha auditorium.

The Calcutta High Court had said earlier in the day that it will continue hearing a Public Interest Litigation against the university’s decision but will not stop the event, NDTV reported.

Banerjee, an alumnus of the university, was recognised for her social service. At the ceremony, the chief minister spoke about rising intolerance in India, The Indian Express reported. “History should not be distorted,” she said. “India has diversity of origin and we should respect that.”

Former Vice Chancellor of North Bengal University Ranju Gopal Mukhopadhyay had filed the petition in the high court on Monday. He claimed the Calcutta University’s decision is “arbitrary and devoid of any proper reasoning”.

The petitioner named the state government and Education Minister Partha Chatterjee respondents in his plea, The Telegraph reported.

The former vice chancellor dismissed the West Bengal government’s contention that the plea was politically motivated and without any basis. The government’s argument that former chief ministers Jyoti Basu and Dr BC Roy, too, had received similar degrees from the university was incorrect, Mukhopadhyay said, as they had received their honorary degrees after stepping down from their position.