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New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus has transformed into a legal and ideological battleground following a Monday evening protest. The university administration has issued a stern warning, promising to purge the institution of what it calls “laboratories of hate,” while the student body alleges a coordinated campaign of state-sponsored defamation.
Threats of permanent debarment
On Tuesday, the JNU administration took to social media to announce a zero-tolerance policy regarding “objectionable slogans” raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
"The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration has vowed the strictest action against students found raising objectionable slogans against Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Home Minister. An FIR has already been lodged in the matter," the university administration said in a post on X.
The administration emphasised that while freedom of speech is a fundamental right, it does not extend to "anti-national activity" or "unlawful conduct." They maintained that universities must remain centres of innovation and cannot be allowed to devolve " into laboratories of hate"..
The FIR discrepancy
A point of confusion emerged regarding the legal status of the incident. While the JNU administration publicly claimed that an FIR (First Information Report) had already been lodged against the involved students, local police officials have since clarified that as of Tuesday, an FIR has not yet been officially registered.
The root of the row
The controversial slogans were reportedly raised during a demonstration reacting to the Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny bail to former JNU students Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. Both are currently incarcerated in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.
In a formal letter to the Delhi Police, the university identified several students, including current JNUSU President Aditi Mishra, alleging their slogans were "highly provocative, inflammatory," and constituted direct contempt of the Supreme Court and constitutional norms.
The JNUSU counter-strike
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) has hit back, characterising the administration’s narrative as an "organised attempt to defame" the university. According to their statement, the gathering on Monday was a vigil meant to commemorate the anniversary of the January 5, 2020, campus violence, where masked goons attacked students at the Sabarmati Hostel.
The JNUSU’s defence highlights several key points
The union questioned why the Delhi Police are so quick to file reports against student leaders for "democratic resistance" but have failed to make a single arrest in the 2020 attack case, despite suspects like Komal Sharma allegedly admitting to the violence on national television.
“JNUSU had organised a vigil on 5 January 2026 to keep the memory of the 2020 attacks on JNU alive and to highlight the abovementioned pattern of injustice at Sabarmati Hostel, which was the prime target of the 2020 attacks…These attempts at slander are an organised attempt defame JNU and intensify the persecution of students. Unfortunately the media whose role is to speak truth to power is siding by those in the government to spread slander against JNU,” the JNUSU statement said.
They described the 2020 incident not as a "clash," but as an "open assault" that has seen zero accountability in the six years since it occurred.
"Where is Komal Sharma and the ABVP goons who accepted planning and executing the attack on national television? The Delhi Police—which displays an extraordinary efficiency in filing FIRs against JNUSU office bearers for even the smallest acts of democratic resistance—has failed to make a single arrest in the 5 January case," it added.
The union accused the media and government of siding together to persecute students who are "peacefully resisting" and speaking truth to power.
As the administration prepares its disciplinary measures, the tension on campus continues to simmer, reflecting a deep-seated divide over the limits of dissent and the role of the university in political discourse.
