NLSIU students stage overnight protest over hostel conditions, water crisis

Students at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, ranked India's number one law school by National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), are protesting against what they describe as persistent administrative neglect of basic living conditions on campus. .The protest, which began on the evening of May 12, drew hundreds of students to the University's basketball court and continued well past midnight..As per a statement issued by the NLSIU Student Bar Association (SBA), the immediate trigger for the demonstration was a complete absence of water supply in the Women's Hostel for multiple hours, with erratic supply having continued for several days prior. Students said that concerns about residence life have been raised with the administration for months without concrete action being taken."Students are forced to live in inhumane conditions with concerns being unheard for months with no concrete measures being undertaken," the statement said..The statement called on Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Sudhir Krishnaswamy to appear before students and provide concrete, student-friendly solutions. As per sources at the University, despite repeated demands made over more than four hours, the VC had not appeared as of the time of writing. The Registrar, whose quarters are located near the basketball court, did engage with students but purportedly offered no firm commitments..Beyond the water crisis, students highlighted a stark disparity in hostel allocation. The Women's Hostel has reportedly been assigned 93 bunk-bed rooms, compared to just 18 for the Men's Hostel, a gap students say reflects inadequacies in infrastructure planning that has not kept pace with the University's growing intake. Students described the bunk-bed rooms as "matchbox sized".According to students, the bunk beds were first installed last year and were initially presented by the administration as a limited, temporary arrangement, applicable only to first-year students and some second-years. However, the measure was later extended to cover all years of study..The crisis unfolds against the backdrop of NLSIU's aggressive increase in enrolment in recent years. Under its Inclusion and Expansion Plan announced in 2021, NLSIU has nearly tripled its BA.LL.B. intake from 120 to 310 seats in just a few years. It also launched an entirely new three-year LL.B. programme in 2022, adding a further 120 seats annually. From academic year 2025–26 onwards, the University has also introduced a new B.A. (Hons.) programme with an intake of 60 students. The University's stated ambition is to grow to over 2,200 on-campus students by 2028–29.Alongside that expansion, the University had announced plans to construct 2,50,000 square feet of new residential facilities. .The protest gains additional significance given the institution's fee structure. The five-year BA.LL.B. programme costs approximately ₹4.5 lakh per year, while the three-year LL.B. programme carries a fee of ₹5 lakh annually. Students argue that these amounts should guarantee basic living standards. .Bar & Bench made repeated attempts to reach NLSIU's administration for comment, to no avail. The University had issued no public statement on the protest at the time of publication.