Students of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata carried out a protest from Saturday until Sunday morning to demand the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Prof Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti.
After protesting for over 20 hours, the students said,
"While we have withheld further physical protest action for now, its continuation is strictly contingent upon the administration’s meaningful and timely action to address the concerns raised as well as the resignation of the Vice Chancellor."
The protest began after WBNUJS's General Council convened but failed to reach a favourable outcome on the Student Juridical Association's (SJA) formal request to remove Prof Chakrabarti.
In their representation, the students provided eight reasons for their demand including loss of institution reputation, unsafe environment for female students and a lack of faith from senior faculty and alumni.
The Supreme Court in a recent judgment dismissed a Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) complaint made by a faculty member against Prof Chakrabarti. The judgement, however, directed the allegations to be recorded in his professional record.
The SJA's representation stated the judgment would have a negative effect on the institution's National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings.
"This has a negative effect on our perception score, which is already an impediment in the NIRF rankings. We believe the current leadership is no longer capable of upholding the values and dignity of WBNUJS, which has been led by esteemed figures such as Dr Madhav Menon, Dr BS Chimni and Dr MP Singh."
The student body has also claimed financial mismanagement and lack of transparency on the part of the administration. The representation reads:
"From what we are aware of, WBNUJS is operating with a financial deficit of ₹7 crore for the first time in the operation of the university. This is a perplexing situation, especially when significant funds are being allocated to research projects while students lack basic amenities and are awaiting reimbursements for competition-related expenses from the last four years. These research grants add up to a total of approximately ₹2.6 Cr, with various universities. However, the student body remains clueless as to the outcomes, as well as involvement of any students in such exercises."
The protest continued until 5:30 am on Sunday morning, when the Vice-Chancellor, senior faculties and representatives sat down for discussions. Subsequently, the Vice-Chancellor asked for a list of concerns and demands to which the students responded with a list of 47 demands.
The student community issued an ultimatum - either the Vice Chancellor resign or the search committee appoint a new Vice-Chancellor by October 31, 2025. This was not accepted by Prof Chakrabarti, who left the campus after 20 hours of protest.
Students have resumed attending classes and wore black bands as a sign of protest. Some have chosen to stand silently during lectures, expressing dissent while teaching continues.