Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has declared that protests can take place only at an earmarked area, inside Gate No. 18, according to a recent notification. All other areas have been declared “out of bounds” and students violating the rule will receive stringent punishment, it added.
While university sources said the October 10 notification was issued in a “democratic spirit”, students have called it an attempt to “curb protests”.
The move comes months after the JMI issued suspension orders to 17 students for protesting “without permission” and “vandalising public property”, after a sit-in on the campus against the university’s order banning “protests without permission”.
The notification from the Chief Proctor Office stated the decision was taken on the basis of a 2017 High Court order that students cannot hold demonstrations within a 100-metre periphery of the JMI administrative block and the institute can earmark an area where they can freely protest.
According to it, the area inside Gate No. 18 has been designated as the place for “students… give vent to their feelings and express themselves within a democratic framework, subject to prior permission”.
Several students said they will soon organise protests against the notification.
Published – October 14, 2025 05:13 pm IST
