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Five Jawaharlal Nehru University student leaders have been rusticated for two semesters, barred from campus, and fined ₹20,000 each over alleged vandalism of facial recognition access gates.
The university says the gates, installed at a cost of about ₹20 lakh, were damaged during protests on 21 November 2025, and that security staff were injured.
Student bodies standing with the JNUSU have criticised the action as an attempt to suppress dissent over campus surveillance, and called for a campus-wide strike in protest of the order.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration, on 2 February 2026, rusticated five students, including four office-bearers of the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) and a former union president, for two semesters under allegations of ‘vandalism’. The order was issued by the Office of the Chief Proctor following an official inquiry into an incident that took place on 21 November 2025, when students were protesting the installation of facial recognition technology (FRT) systems at the library entrance.
According to the administration, those suspended were allegedly involved in damaging the Dr BR Ambedkar Central Library during the protest. The university concluded that the students were involved in “serious acts of violence, coercion and extensive damage to university property”. The order bars the students from entering the campus with immediate effect and imposes a fine of ₹20,000 on each of them.
Those rusticated include JNUSU President Aditi Mishra, Vice President Gopika Babu, General Secretary Sunil Yadav, Joint Secretary Danish Ali, and former JNUSU president Nitish Kumar. All five have been declared “out of bounds” from the entire campus. According to the orders, any student who ‘gives them shelter’ in hostels or residences may also face disciplinary action.
The protests that led to the disciplinary action began in August 2025 after the administration decided to install a facial recognition system at the library entry gate. Student groups opposed the move, describing it as a “surveillance apparatus” and an “infringement of privacy.” The union has said that the gates were installed while students were engaged in JNUSU elections in November 2025, despite assurances from the administration, prompting fresh demonstrations.
In the case of Nitish Kumar, a PhD scholar at the Centre for Political Studies, the university order states that he was found guilty of destroying the FRT access gates “installed at the cost of about ₹20 lakh” at the library. The order alleges that he “cut the wires of the FRT system with scissors brought by these students,” describing the act as premeditated. It further states that he “forcibly pulled out the cameras and camera stands installed on the machines” and “uprooted the machines by dismantling the panels.”
Similar allegations are detailed in the orders against the four JNUSU office-bearers. The order against Gopika Babu states that she “vandalised the FRT system” along with the others, “forcibly pulled out the cameras and camera stands,” and later “stood on the dismantled panels and delivered a provocative speech justifying the act of vandalism.” In Aditi Mishra’s case, the order records that she “cut the wires of the FRT system with scissors” and dismantled panels, and that she did not heed repeated requests by security personnel to stop damaging the machines.
The university has cited violations of Statute 32(5) of its code, particularly Category III offences, which include “all acts of violence and all forms of coercion,” “damaging or defacing, in any form, any property of the University,” and any other act considered a violation of discipline and conduct by the competent authority. The administration further alleged that security staff were injured during the demonstrations.
According to the administration, the proctorial inquiry committee was constituted after complaints were received from the Acting Librarian and the Chief Security Officer. Show cause notices were issued to the students, but the committee found their replies “not satisfactory and insufficient to dislodge the findings arrived at during the inquiry.”
The matter has also taken a legal turn. An FIR was registered on 5 December 2025 at Vasant Kunj (North) police station under Sections 324(3) and 324(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984. On 2 January 2026, Delhi Police served notice on the five students.
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Responding to the university’s orders, JNUSU termed the action a “crackdown” and an attempt at “silencing of students’ voices.” In a statement, it said the rustication and out-of-bounds orders “reflect the anti-student agenda of the administration” and accused it of trying to remove elected representatives for voicing dissent over surveillance measures. The union has called on students to stand in solidarity against what it described as a “targeted assault on campus politics.”
The JNU Teachers’ Association also criticised the action, describing it as a direct assault on the democratic rights of the student body and part of a broader pattern of criminalising protests. It said the issue went beyond individual students and concerned the nature of governance and dissent on campus.
Many other students’ associations on campus came out in support of the rusticated students. In protest, JNUSU has called for a ‘university strike’ against the order on 5 February 2026. The strike lists the following demands:
Revocation of the rustication order and imposed fines
Revocation of the Chief Proctor Office (CPO) manual, which dictates discipline rules in the university
Enactment of UGC guidelines on caste discriminations along with the Rohith Act
Rejection of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025
Resignation of the Vice Chancellor
Removal of the Siddhanta Knowledge Foundation (a BJP-backed private entity that promotes ‘Indian Knowledge Systems’ under the NEP’s ‘value-added courses’) from the School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies
The administration, however, has maintained that the disciplinary action followed due process and was taken in line with university rules after a formal inquiry. The affected students remain barred from campus as the debate over facial recognition, privacy, and the limits of student protest continues.
[DS]
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