NLSIU's LawSoc cancels Umar Khalid documentary screening

The Law and Society Committee (LawSoc) at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru has decided not to proceed with the screening of Lalit Vachani's documentary on jailed activist Umar Khalid, Prisoner No. 626710 is Present..In an email to students, LawSoc said that the planned screening had been met with serious threats of criminal action, intimidation, doxxing and other forms of harassment."As LawSoc, we continue to be undeterred and committed deeply to questions of freedom and justice. Equally, we are committed to the safety and security of our own peers and the wider NLS community. Thus, after several rounds of discussions with the SBA and administration, we have decided not to proceed with the screening of the film, but to instead engage informatively and critically on the questions relating to criminal justice that the present moment raises," the email added.The email further stated that the decision was not a cancellation of Political Prisoners Day, nor was it a decision to step away from the conversation. .The screening was originally scheduled for September 14, to mark Political Prisoners' Day (September 13) and 6 years since Khalid's arrest in a case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had been campaigning for the screening's cancellation since it was first announced.It was then deferred to September 19, citing logistical and security considerations around the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. At the time, LawSoc said that the move was not a response to pressure..According to sources, LawSoc and the NLSIU administration discussed the matter at length. Their assessment was that the screening was "not exactly in the white" on legality, and that a Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) social media post may have signalled scrutiny to come..Sources also said that LawSoc was advised to hold a discussion instead, since even a legally sound screening was unlikely to be spared scrutiny and complaints could draw in students and faculty beyond those involved.LawSoc had also weighed a private, closed-door screening but decided against it, even as many students maintained the screening was not illegal, since "a grey area is still risky." The decision was described as a necessary compromise made after weighing legal risk, not a case of bowing to outside pressure. LawSoc plans to consult the Student Council and other student bodies on a longer-term, public position on academic freedom. A planned poster-making session was also dropped to avoid provoking further scrutiny.On September 19, in place of the screening, LawSoc held the first session of a new series, The Criminal Justice Conversations. The first conversation in the series was on UAPA: Bail & Beyond with Professor Radhika Chitkara followed by an open-house arts evening.