The Crossbill News Desk
The number of students at Jamia Millia Islamia facing disciplinary action from university authorities has risen sharply over the past two years, according to data accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) request and reported by The Times of India.
Between 2019 and 2024, a total of 243 students faced punitive measures ranging from warnings and suspensions to campus bans.
The data shows a steady increase in disciplinary cases: 17 students were penalised in 2019, rising to 47 in 2022, then more than doubling to 105 in 2023, before slightly declining to 74 in 2024.
The period also saw a spike in student clashes on campus, with 42 such incidents recorded in 2023 and 2024. Notably, no clashes were reported during the COVID-19 lockdown years of 2020 and 2021.
Jamia Millia Islamia, a minority institution, has frequently found itself at the heart of student resistance against government policies.
The end of 2019 witnessed intense protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), during which Delhi Police stormed the campus on December 15. Students inside the library were assaulted and tear gas was fired, leaving over a hundred injured in scenes that drew national and international condemnation.
More recently, The Crossbill reported that on February 13, 2024, 14 students participating in a peaceful sit-in protest were forcibly removed while they were asleep and handed over to the police by campus security. These students were protesting the suspension of four peers who had organised a remembrance day event.
Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court temporarily stayed the suspension, with Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma expressing concern over the university’s harsh treatment of peaceful protestors, calling it “worrisome.”
The university has since introduced stricter regulations on campus expression. A memorandum issued on November 29, 2023, explicitly banned protests, dharnas, or slogan-raising against constitutional authorities anywhere within the university. Violations, including graffiti and postering, now attract fines of up to Rs 50,000.
The RTI data also details the forms of disciplinary action taken. In 2023, the university issued 71 show-cause notices, required 21 students to sign good conduct bonds, suspended several, and banned three from the campus. In 2024, 56 students received show-cause notices, eight signed conduct bonds, four were suspended, and one was banned.
In addition, five First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed over a six-year period—one in 2019 and four in 2024. While these FIRs were reportedly registered under sections relating to "causing hurt," the university refused to disclose specific legal provisions, citing Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act, which protects information that may impede ongoing investigations.
Between 2019 and 2024, Jamia also collected Rs 27,000 in fines from students for disciplinary infractions. This included Rs 7,000 in 2019, Rs 4,000 in 2022, Rs 12,500 in 2023, and Rs 3,500 in 2024. No fines were recorded during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
The trend highlights growing tensions on campus as students continue to push back against what many see as increasingly repressive policies, even as the administration steps up efforts to curtail dissent.
Between 2019 and 2024, a total of 243 students faced punitive measures ranging from warnings and suspensions to campus bans.
The data shows a steady increase in disciplinary cases: 17 students were penalised in 2019, rising to 47 in 2022, then more than doubling to 105 in 2023, before slightly declining to 74 in 2024.
The period also saw a spike in student clashes on campus, with 42 such incidents recorded in 2023 and 2024. Notably, no clashes were reported during the COVID-19 lockdown years of 2020 and 2021.
Jamia Millia Islamia, a minority institution, has frequently found itself at the heart of student resistance against government policies.
The end of 2019 witnessed intense protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), during which Delhi Police stormed the campus on December 15. Students inside the library were assaulted and tear gas was fired, leaving over a hundred injured in scenes that drew national and international condemnation.
More recently, The Crossbill reported that on February 13, 2024, 14 students participating in a peaceful sit-in protest were forcibly removed while they were asleep and handed over to the police by campus security. These students were protesting the suspension of four peers who had organised a remembrance day event.
Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court temporarily stayed the suspension, with Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma expressing concern over the university’s harsh treatment of peaceful protestors, calling it “worrisome.”
The university has since introduced stricter regulations on campus expression. A memorandum issued on November 29, 2023, explicitly banned protests, dharnas, or slogan-raising against constitutional authorities anywhere within the university. Violations, including graffiti and postering, now attract fines of up to Rs 50,000.
The RTI data also details the forms of disciplinary action taken. In 2023, the university issued 71 show-cause notices, required 21 students to sign good conduct bonds, suspended several, and banned three from the campus. In 2024, 56 students received show-cause notices, eight signed conduct bonds, four were suspended, and one was banned.
In addition, five First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed over a six-year period—one in 2019 and four in 2024. While these FIRs were reportedly registered under sections relating to "causing hurt," the university refused to disclose specific legal provisions, citing Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act, which protects information that may impede ongoing investigations.
Between 2019 and 2024, Jamia also collected Rs 27,000 in fines from students for disciplinary infractions. This included Rs 7,000 in 2019, Rs 4,000 in 2022, Rs 12,500 in 2023, and Rs 3,500 in 2024. No fines were recorded during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
The trend highlights growing tensions on campus as students continue to push back against what many see as increasingly repressive policies, even as the administration steps up efforts to curtail dissent.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment