After an overnight protest that drew hundreds of students to the basketball court at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, Vice-Chancellor Prof Sudhir Krishnaswamy finally agreed on the afternoon of May 13 to meet the students.
What followed, students allege, was administrative indifference.
The VC had initially agreed to only meet women residents in a closed classroom. However, students pushed back and secured an open session in the amphitheatre. Conditions were imposed beforehand - no chanting or sloganeering.
As per the minutes of the meeting shared with Bar & Bench, when the students posed questions, the VC allegedly stated that he would not answer any of them and that he would respond in writing in the next 7-10 days.
Students allege that he had communicated this to the Student Bar Association only moments before arriving.
Among the queries raised by the students were the water crisis in women's residences; just 3 toilets for 36 girls on a floor in Narmada and Yamuna hostels; the 93 bunk bed rooms in women's residences versus 18 in the men's residences; sexual harassment concerns including women students allegedly filmed without consent at off-campus accommodation; a trespasser caught by students rather than security; non-functional fans; and the revocation of the Amaha mental health service.
At approximately 4:30 PM, while a student was raising a question on structural misogyny on campus, the VC allegedly walked out. He reportedly refused to bring forward his written response deadline despite students pointing out that end-term exams begin next week and the room allocation deadline is May 17. As per the students, the 7–10 day timeline was a deliberate tactic to stall until the exam period.
Following the open house, the student body released an email describing the session as an exercise in humiliation - one in which the administration paid lip service to its responsibilities without engaging in any meaningful conversation. Students also flagged that the threat of disciplinary action against protesters amounted to intimidation.
The email demanded a response within 24 hours; however the administration did not respond to or acknowledge the email.
At around 11 AM on May 14, students took to the campus again — marching with posters and slogans. They negotiated with the Director of Campus and Residential Life (DCRL), securing at least an acknowledgement that their demand for an administration response by end of day would be heard. Students have made it clear that if no response is received within that timeframe, a larger protest will follow tonight.
The overnight protest was triggered by a complete loss of water supply in the Women's Hostel for multiple hours, with erratic supply over several days. Students say that over 17 emails were sent to the hostel office, DCRL and Chief Operating Officer (COO), without resolution.
Bunk beds, first installed last year for junior students only and later expanded to all years without consultation, had drawn unresolved complaints for over a year.
The B.A.LL.B. fee is ₹4.5 lakh per year, while the LL.B. Honours fee is ₹5 lakh. Students say that NLSIU has nearly tripled its five-year course intake since 2021 and also launched a new 3-year LLB programme in 2022 with 120 seats, without commensurate expansion of residential infrastructure.
Bar & Bench made repeated attempts to reach NLSIU's administration for comment, to no avail.