JNU rusticates student for protest against face recognition tech at library; student leaders fined

JNU found Patel guilty of “manhandling security guards and library staff” and “kicking the main glass door of the library until it broke” during the protest on August 22, according to the office order. “He was very rude, aggressive and disrespectful towards the Acting Librarian and library staff,” the order stated, adding that his actions “disrupted duly approved official work.”

JNU president Nitish Kumar, also a PhD student, has been fined Rs 19,000, and issued a strict warning not to repeat “indisciplined activities”. The order said Kumar “intimidated and obstructed library staff,” “shouted at the Acting Librarian,” and “tried to forcibly open the main glass door,” instigating Patel to break it.

JNUSU Vice-President Manisha was fined Rs 5,000 with “a strict warning not to repeat such indisciplined activities  in the future”.

The orders cited violations of Statute 32(5) of the university’s code, including acts of violence, coercion, intimidation, and damage to university property.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Patel denied the charges, alleging that the JNU administration had “manipulated facts”.

“There were several basic facilities like the subscription of JSTOR and other journals which have been unavailable to us,” he said. “Instead of paying attention to this, the administration was focusing on spending lakhs on a recognition system. This is what we were protesting against. I cut my leg with glass during the scuffle, but the notice issued to me says the guards got hurt.”

While the university cited Patel’s “total disregard for the institutional process” and “aggressive behaviour”, the Chief Proctor noted in the office order that a “lenient view” was taken, keeping his career prospects in mind.

The August protest

The action follows an indefinite sit-in protest held by students in August against the installation of the facial recognition system at the Dr B R Ambedkar Central Library.

The students had demanded its rollback and raised several other issues, including increasing seating capacity and building an annexe library, improving accessibility and assistive software for students with disabilities, ensuring 24/7 access to reading rooms, renovating infrastructure and restoring subscriptions to academic databases such as JSTOR and STATA, and taking action against casteist graffiti in the library.

In a letter dated August 25 accessed by The Indian Express, Acting Librarian Dr Manorama Tripathi complained to JNU vice-chancellor about “misconduct, rowdyism, and vandalism by students” during the installation of the new access gates. Tripathi alleged that certain students “manhandled library staff, damaged the gates in the presence of police, and intimidated the undersigned”.

A security department report from the same day stated that around 25 guards were deployed when the students attempted to enter the library. It noted that “students… tried to push open the gate” and “both fell due to pressure from the crowd,” sustaining injuries. They were later treated at the JNU health centre, and referred to Safdarjung Hospital.

The administration, however, issued a notice in September announcing the formation of a committee to examine the installation of biometric entry gates at the library. The committee, the Registrar said, will consult “all stakeholders” and submit its recommendations. Until then, the university has ordered a status quo, effectively halting further work on the gates.

The Indian Express reached out to Chief Proctor N Janardhan Raju, but received no response.