When a public interest litigation moved by one Hari Krishnan in this regard came up for hearing, a division bench comprising Justice M Sathayanarayanan and Justice R Hemalatha noted that the petitioner and others had sent representations to the President of India and the Union Education Ministry, but failed to make an appeal to the IIT-M management.

Hence, the petitioner has to file a plea before IIT-M seeking to reopen Krishna Gate, and the IIT management should consider the plea and reply within two weeks, the bench held

The petitioner had submitted that Krishna Gate was installed to enable those from Velachery and Madipakkam working at the institute to have easy access to the campus. But since last December, the gate has been closed affecting not only the research scholars and those working there, but has also made it difficult for students from the schools within the campus. However, the counsel appearing for IIT submitted that the gate was closed with a view to improve the safety of the women students studying there. It may be noted that the students of IIT-Madras have been opposed to the closure of Krishna Gate and staged a series of protests in this regard. Women students have also opposed such a move reportedly made on their behalf, stating that it caused grave inconvenience to easy accessibility to the campus and facilities available outside the gate.