Unzila Sheikh, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: Despite the Delhi High Court’s order on March 4 staying the suspension of 17 Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) students, the university administration has not fully complied with the ruling. While seven of the suspended students who signed the petition have been allowed to attend classes, the remaining ten are still barred from doing so. This partial compliance has been described by the students as “contempt of court”, as the court had stayed all the suspensions issued on February 12, which also included a ban on the students’ campus entry.
A letter dated March 5, 2025, listed the names of the seven students permitted to resume their studies, but the ten others, including Sakhi, a third-year BA (Hons) Sociology student, continue to face restrictions.
Sakhi, who remains suspended, described the situation as a form of “mental harassment”.
“On February 24, the university issued a circular stating that students must maintain a minimum of 75% attendance to be eligible for exams. If they fail to meet this requirement, they will be barred from sitting for the annual or end-of-semester exams. I have been suspended for 20 days, and now I am not allowed to attend classes. This is my final semester. If I fail to meet the attendance criterion, I will have to repeat the year. Who will take responsibility for that? Who will compensate for this?” she asked.
Sonakshi, a Media Governance student at the university, alleged that the proctorial team had informed five of the ten students that their suspension would be revoked (not stayed) if they signed a bond of “good conduct”.
The students, however, refused to sign.
The violation of the “Bond of Good Conduct” would reportedly invite immediate and strict disciplinary actions against the students, including expulsion or rustication from their current course.
The Bond read, “I bind myself to be of good behaviour to Jamia Millia Islamia and its authorities, teachers, staff, students and visitors, and for abiding by the rules enshrined under the Ordinance XIV (Academic) ‘Students Discipline’ and any other rules of the university notified through notices/circulars/orders, etc., issued by any authority/officer of Jamia Millia Islamia for compliance by the students from time to time.”
“The students have not signed the bond as it is factually incorrect and can be/will be used against them in the future,” said Sonakshi.
During the hearing of the students’ petition against the suspension, the court remarked that participation in peaceful protests is an integral part of “training to instill the basic principles and norms of civil society”.
The suspensions were stayed until May 2, pending the resolution of separate pleas challenging the February 12 order issued by the university’s proctor that also barred the students from entering the campus.
“This stay on suspension is only a partial victory for Jamia students, and it is the result of unity among us. We, as Jamia students, must reclaim our legacy of mass student resistance. It is time for us to raise our voices against pressing issues like the recent hike in course fees, campus democracy, hostel allocation and the privatisation of education. These 17 students are being made scapegoats to suppress dissent. This is not an attack on individuals — it is a political assault on all our democratic rights as part of a broader, communal and fascist agenda unfolding across the country,” said Habeeba, a first-year BA Persian student at the university who is among those suspended.
The court also directed the formation of a “peace committee” to address the situation. The committee will be chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mazhar Asif and include both university officials and student representatives.
On February 10, a group of students organised a sit-in protest on campus against the university’s order banning protests and meetings without prior approval. The protest also condemned the suspension of four PhD scholars for their demonstration on December 15, 2024, the fifth anniversary of the violent clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police on the JMI campus.
Two days later, on February 12, the chief proctor issued letters suspending 17 students indefinitely and barring them from entering the campus. The following day, 14 of them were detained by the Delhi Police on charges of “vandalising public property” and “disrupting the peaceful atmosphere”.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, who was hearing the petition, criticised the manner in which the university handled the protest.
“Without delving into the truthfulness of either party’s claims, a review of the records itself raises concerns about how the university managed the students’ protest,” he said and emphasised that the court was not currently examining the reasons for the protest but noted that the documents presented by the students indicated that it was a “peaceful protest”.
The court’s order stated, “Without going into the veracity of submissions from either party, the perusal of records itself makes the Court worried about the way in which the protest being undertaken by the students is handled by the University. The Court is not going into the reason for the protest at the moment, but the documents, as shown by the petitioners filed along with the record, prima facie show that it was a peaceful protest. All the students are of tender age. The students, when they go to the University, certainly make an endeavour to raise their voices within the framework of the law. Rather, participation in such peaceful protests is part of the training to inculcate the basic principles and norms of civil society.”
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves condemned Jamia’s actions and called it a prime example of student repression.
“During the 2019 CAA-NRC protests, students were brutally beaten by the police — many suffered broken bones, and one lost an eye. Back then, the Jamia proctor and vice-chancellor stood in opposition to police entry onto the campus. Now, the administration has become so supine that it has allied itself with the police, who are under the control of the central government. On February 13, hundreds of police officers entered the campus and transported students to a distant police station, a two-hour journey away. This is nothing short of a display of power and heavy-handedness. The rules students are protesting against are entirely unconstitutional. They are told they cannot organise protests without prior permission. They cannot gather without prior notice or even hold study circles. They are forbidden from posting flyers on campus walls. This is nothing less than an attempt to suppress dissent and stifle freedom of expression,” he said.