MNLU Nagpur students stage protest over suppression of dissent, systemic concerns

Students at the Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Nagpur on July 5 commenced a protest over what students describe as the suppression of dissent on campus, deteriorating living conditions, arbitrary administrative conduct, and inadequate support for internships and placements.

The protests started on July 5 and continued from 9:30 am onwards on July 6. Some faculty members supported the protest as it began, students said, though others discouraged it.

The protest follows a representation submitted to Vice-Chancellor Prof Vijender Kumar and the Registrar on July 5.

The representation objects to a clause of the University's Academic Code of Conduct, which categorises hunger strikes, dharnas, gheraos and sit-ins as misconduct. As per students, the Code of Conduct not distinguishing between disruptive acts and peaceful protest has created a chilling effect on their rights under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution. The representation also claims that the names of students who raised concerns during Open House sessions with the Vice-Chancellor were noted down by faculty in the room.

Further, it alleges that senior officials, including the Registrar and the Chief Warden, made insensitive remarks after an accident involving two students, causing distress to the affected students and their peers.

The representation goes on to cite the prolonged absence of a functional canteen at the main campus, with food delivery restricted to the hostel gate after 6 pm. It also refers to a fire incident near the mess to which the Registrar did not personally respond, and says fire extinguishers on hostel and academic block floors are inadequate. Students said access to the academic block has been restricted by an order of the Registrar, and that formal hostel regulations remain unoperationalised. The representation additionally alleges that wardens have questioned students found visiting each other's rooms across batches, and that CCTV monitoring in the boys' hostel has been used to discourage such interaction.

A large part of the representation concerns living conditions at the University's extended hostel campus in Dongargaon, where a batch of students has been housed since August 2025. Students allege unreliable drinking water, power cuts and poor sanitation, along with repeated sightings of snakes and scorpions. The representation also raises safety and privacy concerns for women residents, including alleged incidents of inappropriate conduct by co-residents that students say went unaddressed.

On transportation, the representation cites an incident on July 1, when only one bus arrived in the evening to take students back to Dongargaon from the main campus, despite far larger numbers having travelled in that morning. Students said several were left stranded and had to arrange private transport at their own cost, with some standing on the footboard of an overcrowded bus.

The representation also raises restrictions about cultural events, saying administrative authorities have barred DJ nights, disallowed sponsorships for events, and required cultural fests to conclude by 9.30 pm. Students say that this virtual non-existence of meaningful recreational events has led to a rise in the number of students seeking counselling through the University's mental health services.

The representation also flags the absence of a dedicated Placement Officer, placing the burden of securing internships and jobs entirely on individual students. It describes the University's disciplinary response to past incidents, including a bottle thrown at a faculty member and a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) raid at a tea stall outside the campus, as disproportionate. Students, some of them minors at the time, were left without institutional support during the resulting police proceedings, the representation states.

On academic matters, students have sought a review of the rule barring re-evaluation for candidates who fail an exam by less than five marks, and clarity on the fee heads charged to students of the BA LLB (Hons. in Adjudication and Justicing) programme during their apprenticeship semester, when they are away from campus.

The representation states it was submitted only after internal channels had been exhausted for the redressal of the concerns raised.

The representatoon makes a request for the "professional consideration" of the flagged issues, citing apprehensions among students of disciplinary action for raising these concerns.

Students said they are now drafting a set of time-bound demands, and have called the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar to a meeting around 2 PM on July 6 to present them.

While the administration has asked for the meeting to be held behind closed doors, students said they are insisting on an open setting.

Bar and Bench made repeated attempts to reach MNLU Nagpur's VC for comment. The VC has not responded at the time of publishing this article.