Students on hunger strike demanding the restoration of Jamia Millia Islamia’s students’ union elections alleged they were “forcibly removed” from the protest site around 5.30 a.m. on Saturday, triggering further protests. The administration, however, denied using force and said the students were asked to vacate the spot as they were protesting outside the designated area.

Several students have been staging a hunger strike since October 12 demanding the restoration of student union elections that were last held in 2006.

The university authorities initiated disciplinary action against two students, who initiated the strike. On Saturday, Ebin Basil, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) unit general secretary at JMI, said he received a one-year rustication notice while Jasim Ali, a postgraduate student, got a six-month campus ban order.

The Jamia unit of the NSUI, in a statement, said, “Approximately 60 security guards, accompanied by the chief proctor and security advisor, arrived at the protest site and forcibly dragged away the students.”

Students ‘detained’

Students also alleged that at least 12 protesters were detained by the police while staging a demonstration against their forcible removal.

However, a senior police officer said they were “removed” from the campus gate for “destroying public property” and released in the evening without any charges.

The administration announced that the campus will remain closed for five days to celebrate the upcoming festivals.

‘Supressing dissent’

The action comes amid growing concern among Delhi students over a shrinking space for dissent. Activists have highlighted the recent denotification of Jantar Mantar as a protest site, daily detentions, and the imposition of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) across parts of the capital.

JMI has not held student union elections since 2006, when they were dissolved following campus violence. A university spokesperson said, “We have received no written representation regarding the matter. Over the years, elections have evolved and we conduct department-centric student elections, which have served the campus well.”

Last year, a controversy erupted in February when 14 students were detained by the police from inside the campus for allegedly vandalising public property and disturbing law and order. The students were protesting against administrative clampdowns on democracy and freedom of speech inside the campus.

Since then, the university has doubled down on protests on campus. In October last year, the university earmarked one spot near gate number 18 as the designated protest site, leaving the rest of campus “out of bounds” for protests. 

(With inputs from Lavpreet Kaur)

Students protesting at Jamia Millia Islamia ( JMI) since August 24 against alleged irregularities in the admission process accused the administration of forcibly removing them from the agitation site on Wednesday. The administration, however, said security personnel had merely asked the students to clear the area since they were demonstrating outside the designated protest zone.

The development follows mounting student anger over a controversial spot round admission process. Spot round admissions are held annually in July-August to fill remaining vacant seats after regular cut-off lists are exhausted. While the university previously conducted these registrations online, it transitioned to an offline mode for the current academic session. Protesting student groups allege that this shift lacked transparency, enabling authorities to bypass waiting lists and allocate seats arbitrarily, effectively locking out deserving candidates.

The protest, started by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), drew solidarity from other organisations like the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

‘Arbitrary allocation’

Protestors allege that the university ignored the merit list, giving seats to lower-ranked candidates while turning away students with higher marks, alleging that the authorities were engaging in “seat chori”. 

On Wednesday night, at least four students received notices: one was suspended from campus for 10 days, two for seven days, and one for three days.

Ebin Basil, general secretary of NSUI’s Jamia unit said, “For the last three days, we have been peacefully protesting in front of the central canteen. Today, the administration and security guards surrounded us, lifted us, and snatched our phones away so that we wouldn’t record anything.” 

A JMI spokesperson denied that students were removed forcibly, saying, “A space has been designated for protests following a High Court order. The students had lodged themselves in front of the central canteen, which overlooks numerous departments, and where every student can see them. They were creating a disturbance for others and were asked by their teachers and administrative officials to move from the spot, following which they got up and walked away.” 

Protesting students alleged the spot admission round was rushed, effectively locking out candidates on the waiting lists. An earlier statement by the NSUI had also questioned why the spot rounds were being held after only two selection rounds. However, the university administration maintained the process was conducted quickly to prevent academic delays. Officials added that all students are eligible for spot admissions that are “dynamic in nature”.

In October last year, the university issued a notice earmarking a designated protest site, near Gate number 18, and declared the rest of the campus “out of bounds” for demonstrations. This notification, too, drew criticisms from students, who said it was an attack on democratic dissent. In February last year, 17 students were suspended for protesting against increasing disciplinary action on campus.

The Delhi High Court has sought responses from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and the Centre on a plea alleging religious discrimination in the recruitment of the university’s outsourced non-teaching employees.

A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued the notices on the petition and granted JMI and the Centre four weeks to file its reply.

According to the petition, the grievance arises from a notification dated March 24, 2026, and a list of outsourced employees that purportedly shows that 720 out of 986 outsourced employees belong to a particular community. The plea claimed this gave rise to a “strong inference of discriminatory practices” in the recruitment process.

The petitioner argued that the recruitment violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and equal opportunity in public employment.

The plea contended that JMI being a public authority, was bound to follow constitutional principles of fairness and non-discrimination.

The plea has sought the quashing of the March 24 notification and directions for a fresh and transparent recruitment process for the outsourced workers. The plea has also sought directions to the University Grants Commission to frame uniform guidelines governing recruitment of non-teaching staff in universities funded by it.