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JNU seeks FIR after ‘provocative slogans’ raised against PM Modi, Shah at campus event

The varsity has flagged ‘objectionable and provocative slogans’ allegedly raised by students during an event to mark the January 5, 2020, campus violence

Written by: Vidheesha Kuntamalla, Alok Singh

5 min readUpdated: Jan 7, 2026 03:20 AM IST

JNU students allegedly raising controversial slogans against PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. (Source: Express Archives/ PTI)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has asked police to register an FIR after “highly objectionable, provocative, and inflammatory slogans” were allegedly raised during an event organised by “students associated with” the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Monday evening.

The university has identified nine students by name, including the four office bearers of JNUSU, who it has said were present during the event that was organised “ostensibly to observe the sixth anniversary of the violence that occurred in JNU on 5 January 2020”, but at which slogans relating to the “bail pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam” were raised.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused bail to Umar and Sharjeel, former students at JNU, in the ‘larger conspiracy’ case relating to the communal riots in Delhi in 2020.

Weeks before the riots broke out in February of that year, dozens of masked individuals had gone on the rampage in JNU, beating up students and teachers. Then union president Aishe Ghosh was seriously injured in the attack.

A purported video of Monday night’s event on campus appeared to show students raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

In the complaint submitted to the Station House Officer of Vasant Kunj (North) police station Tuesday, the chief security officer of JNU said the gathering, at which some 30-35 students were present, initially “appeared to be limited to commemorating the said anniversary”.

“However, during the course of the programme, subsequent to the judicial verdict” on Umar and Sharjeel, “the nature and tone of the gathering changed significantly”, and the alleged slogans were raised, according to the complaint. This, the complaint said, was “direct contempt of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India”.

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Senior Delhi Police officers said Tuesday evening that they had received the complaint, and were looking into JNU’s request for an FIR.

In its complaint, the university claimed that the slogans were “clearly audible, deliberate, and repeated”, “indicating intentional and conscious misconduct rather than any spontaneous or inadvertent expression”.

This, it said, reflected a “wilful disregard for institutional discipline”, was “wholly inconsistent with democratic dissent”, and had “the potential to seriously disturb public order, campus harmony, and the safety and security environment of the University”.

In a statement released on Tuesday, JNUSU alleged that Monday night’s event had been “mischaracterised” by a section of the media “in order to deflect from real questions”.

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Union general secretary Sunil Yadav, who has been named in the letter sent to police, told The Indian Express: “Last night, as part of a remembrance, the students’ union had issued a ‘guerrilla dhaba’ call near Sabarmati [hostel]… As far as the slogans are concerned, I cannot comment on this at the moment.”

Official sources in the JNU administration said the inquiry into the incident was still at a preliminary stage, and more names would be added to the nine already identified, “subject to inquiry”.

One of the students named in the complaint denied having been present at the Sabarmati event. “I was not present at the protest last night, and I was shocked to learn that my name has been mentioned in the administration’s complaint,” this student, who is not a JNUSU office-bearer, told The Indian Express.

In a statement, JNU Registrar Ravikesh said the university had taken “serious cognizance of the videos being circulated of the protest organised at Sabarmati premises yesterday”.

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The registrar’s statement repeated the contents of JNU’s letter to police, and asked “all stakeholders…to desist from indulging in any such unwarranted activities…failing which strict action will be taken as per rules”.

In a series of posts on X, JNU said that the “university administration has vowed the strictest action against students found raising objectionable slogans against Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Home Minister…”

“Any form of violence, unlawful conduct or anti-national activity will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” and the “students involved in this incident will also face disciplinary measures including immediate suspension, expulsion and permanent debarment from the University,” it said.

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood said in a statement: “The raising of such slogans on the JNU campus after the rejection of bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid is extremely condemnable. In a democracy, there is a right to dissent, but there can be no place for violence, provocation, or the politics of personal or ideological violence.”

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ABVP leader and former JNUSU joint secretary Vaibhav Meena accused the leadership of the union of protesting against constitutional institutions. “They protested against the Indian state, against the Indian judiciary, the Supreme Court,” he said in a video statement.

The Left alliance of AISA, affiliated with the CPI(ML) Liberation, SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M), and DSF, an independent Left organisation on the JNU campus, swept the elections for the four-member central panel in November last year.

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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