Delhi High Court Stays Suspension of Jamia Millia Islamia Students

The Delhi high court on Tuesday suspended the suspension of seven Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University students until April 2, observing that the way in which the university dealt with peaceful protests was "worrisome".

A bench of justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma instructed the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university to constitute a committee of officials and student representatives to resolve the issue.

Without recourse to the submissions of the parties, reading of the record itself makes the court concerned with respect to how the protest being engaged in by the students is managed by the university.". The court is not going to enter the purpose of the protest as of now, but the papers prima facie establish that it was a peaceful protest. All of these students are of tender age," the court held in its order.

It stated: "The court is confident beyond any doubt that the administrative officials like its Vice-Chancellor (VC), Dean, Chief Proctor will take instant remedial actions to assuage the situation. A committee of officers headed by the VC will be formed and the students' representatives could also be appointed by the VC.". It is relevant here to state that the court is not entering the criminal cases and this order would not have an impact. The operation of the order of dated 12.02.2025 will, however, stand suspended until further date of hearing.

The right of peaceful demonstration of the students was recognized by the court by underlining the fact that letting their voices heard within the rubric of law was a constituent part of the civic education that they received.

The students can approach the university, definitely make an effort to raise their voice within the bounds of the law. Instead, joining such peaceful demonstrations is part of the training to instill the fundamental principles and norms of civil society," it stated.

The protests themselves occurred between the 10th and 13th of February, when the students protested over show cause notices given to them for attending their fellow students as part of a December 2024 protest held to commemorate one year since the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests and 2019 incidents of alleged police brutality on university grounds.

On February 12, the university suspended 17 students and banned them from entering the campus. The following day, Delhi Police detained 14 students in the early hours, and released them after nine hours.

The pleas against the February 12 suspension order were heard by senior lawyer Colin Gonsalves, who argued that the university's action was "highly disproportionate and unreasonable" to the pacific nature of the protest. He also argued that the university allied itself with the police in arresting the students and slapped the suspensions without giving them an opportunity to be heard.

While, however, the university, as defended by counsel Amit Sahani, contended that the students did not apply for permission for staging the protest and that demonstrations did not bear "correlation" with academic affairs. The counsellor further alleged students have vandalised the property of the university and had an FIR lodged with Delhi Police. Also, Sahani argued that the students had stayed overnight outside the canteen, which was not allowed.

The court asked the university to respond to the plea of the students and fixed the next hearing on April 2.