Delhi Police impose prohibitory orders outside Jamia

Delhi Police imposed prohibitory orders outside Jamia Millia Islamia University as a student protest entered its 16th day. Students continue their hunger strike, seeking union elections, revocation of disciplinary action and the resignation of the Chief Security Advisor.

New Delhi: As the students’ agitation at Jamia Millia Islamia University entered its 16th day on Tuesday, the Delhi Police put up a poster outside Gate No. 7 of the university, warning that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was in force on the premises and that violations would invite legal action.

The notice prohibits unlawful gatherings, meetings and processions, and warns of legal action and the use of force, if necessary, in case of violations.

---

Following the imposition of prohibitory orders, security was heightened outside Gate No. 7, with heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel.

Students have been staging a hunger strike since October 12, demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU) and the removal of the university’s Chief Proctor over a “crackdown” on protesters.

Meanwhile, students have formally submitted their demands to the Vice-Chancellor, seeking a revision of the notification issued by the Registrar’s Office regarding the hunger strike and insisting that their demands be “fully addressed”.

The Jamia Millia Islamia administration on Monday accepted the demands of the protesting students and announced that it would hold students’ union elections and constitute a committee to draft a students’ union constitution. It also said action against the protesters would be revoked. However, it did not provide a timeline for the process.

In a letter to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, the students stated that the “hunger strike and peaceful” protest would continue until their demands were met.

The demands include a clear timeline for the students’ union constitution and elections, revocation of disciplinary action against protesters, and the resignation of the Chief Security Advisor.

“No protesting students will apologise for implementing their constitutional right of peacefully protesting,” the students’ letter read.

“Until these demands are met, we will be continuing our hunger strike and the peaceful protest. We urge the university administration to take these demands and ensure that the process of establishing the Students’ Union proceeds within the stipulated timelines,” they said.

“The students expect a clear commitment from the administration to address these demands and facilitate the formation of a democratically elected Students’ Union,” the letter read.

Earlier on Monday, the students, in a statement, rejected the administration’s notice, stating that it failed to provide a clear and unambiguous commitment to restoring the students’ union. They maintained that their agitation would continue until all their demands were fully addressed.