DU mandates prior approval for protests; teachers, students slam move

Delhi University’s (DU) order mandating prior permission for any protest or gathering on campus has drawn sharp reactions, with teachers and student groups arguing that it replaces a blanket ban with a more controlled and potentially selective system of regulating dissent.

The pushback comes after a month-long blanket ban on assemblies under Section 163 of the BNSS (earlier CrPC 144), imposed during protests against the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) draft Equity Regulations 2026. The ban, which prohibited gatherings of five or more people, was challenged in the Delhi High Court, which observed that a “blanket ban” on assemblies was not permissible without specific grounds.

‘One step back’

For many faculty members, the new order must be read in that context.

Democratic Teachers’ Front Secretary Abha Dev Habib said the earlier circular had effectively “banned everything”, and the current order appears to be a response to the High Court’s intervention. “This is also bad, but it is the University taking one step back on the blanket ban,” she said.

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However, she argued that the shift to a permission-based system will lead to selectivity. “The whole idea of the University is that there is a space to speak… We have seen how already giving venues for events has become selective. We have seen how Sociology and other departments have been marginalised by the University. This will now be used to block certain kinds of programmes, while giving others a free hand,” she said.

‘Attack on democratic rights’

Rajesh Jha of the Academic for Action and Development Delhi Teachers’ Association (AADTA) located the issue within the longer democratic tradition of the university. “There has always been a democratic tradition of providing space for teachers and students in DU. Knowledge is not gained through just classrooms. It is all about the training in democratic traditions. This is entirely an attack on democratic rights,” he said.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has also questioned the necessity of the order. Its president, VS Negi, said, “(The) academic environment in the university is perfectly fine, there was no requirements for such unwarranted notice from administration. These kind of notices create unnecessary unrest in the university (sic).”

Student organisations have echoed similar concerns. In a press statement, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) said there was “Permission Raj” at DU, which aimed at “strangulating progressive voices”. AISA linked it to the recent mobilisations around social justice and the UGC equity regulations, and described it as a “frontal attack” on the right to protest.

DU defends move

“The administrative apparatus of Delhi University has been systematically saffronised. While the university hosts a Literature Festival that serves as a mouthpiece for regressive propaganda and communal rhetoric, and while the RSS is granted unquestioned free space to conduct daily Shakhas on campus premises, the administration seeks to impose surveillance and control on student resistance. This double standard exposes the administration's bias, a red carpet for the ABVP and the RSS, but a ‘Permission Raj’ for those fighting for equality!” it said.

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The administration, however, maintains that the intent is preventive, not restrictive. DU Proctor Manoj Kumar Singh told The Federal, “Earlier, people would put anything on social media and claim that they had permission. We had incidents of violence in the recent past. We did not want those things to repeat. So we have taken this precaution. There is no intention of stopping any protests. It is just to make sure that we have the record of everything happening, so we are not taken by surprise.”

DUSU VP slams Modi, Adani

DU Students’ Union (DUSU) Vice President Rahul Jhansla from the National Students’ Union of India, however, has said there would be “consequences” if the notice is not withdrawn.

“Just as this Modani (Modi + Adani) government suppresses the voices of the youth across the country by putting them in jail, in the same way, the agents of the Modani government sitting in the name of administration in Delhi University issued a Tughlaqi, and Hitlershahi order yesterday and have worked to silence the voices of students studying in this university,” he said.

“In my capacity as Vice President of the Delhi University Students’ Union, I strongly oppose this arbitrary order and warn those agents of the Modi government sitting in the Delhi University administration to withdraw this order; otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences,” Jhansla added.