Delhi Police impose prohibitory orders outside Jamia amid students' protest

New Delhi: As the students' agitation at the Jamia Millia Islamia University entered the 16th day on Tuesday, the Delhi Police put up a poster outside gate number seven of the university, warning that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is in force at the premises and violation of the same 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 the prohibitory orders, security has been heightened outside gate number seven 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 from the Registrar's Office regarding the hunger strike, and insisting that the students' demands be "fully addressed".

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

In a letter to the University's Vice-Chancellor, the students stated that the "hunger strike and peaceful" protest will continue until their demands are met.

The demands include a clear timeline for the Students' Union Constitution and elections, revocation of disciplinary actions 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 fails to provide a clear and unambiguous commitment to the restoration of the students' union and maintained that their agitation will continue until all their demands are fully addressed.

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