Gautam Buddha University student ordered to sign Rs 5-lakh bond over ‘anti-govt propaganda’, CJP protest

Akshath Tripathi, a second-year law student of Gautam Buddha University, a state university in Uttar Pradesh, has been ordered to sign a bond and furnish Rs 5 lakh as surety because there’s a “strong possibility” of his “causing a breach of peace”. In support of the bond demand, the order accuses him of spreading “anti-government propaganda” and inciting fellow students to join a proposed protest by the youth pressure group, Cockroach Janta Party.

Tripathi is a Uttar Pradesh state committee member of the left-leaning Students’ Federation of India. The order came on September 4 and was issued by the Executive Magistrate III, Greater Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, under Sections 126 and 135 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). While the matter was listed for September 5, Tripathi was not present.

Tripathi, at present in Prayagraj (Allahabad), told Careers360 over the phone that he received the magistrate's notice on WhatsApp from sub-inspector Shiva Pandey at around 8 pm on September 4. He said he was not given sufficient time to appear before the authorities and that the expectation appeared to be that he would travel around 600 km overnight and reach the next morning, which was not possible.

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This also comes after the Supreme Court quashed all the cases lodged against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) protests held at Jantar Mantar in late July.

Although the order doesn’t mention a specific protest where the district administration was expecting Tripathi to cause trouble, the CJP had announced a protest in Delhi on September 5 – teachers’ day – but had called it off.

Careers360 reached out to the dean of student welfare office of Gautam Buddha University and CJP spokespersons but did not receive any response. If and when they respond, the story will be updated.

GBU Greater Noida closed; order via WhatsApp

According to the order, sub-inspector Shiva Pandey, posted at Police Station Eco-1, Gautum Buddh Nagar, had sent the order through his Whatsapp to Tripathi.

The order states, “The protester, Akshat Tripathi, is spreading anti-government propaganda and inciting other university students to participate in the proposed protest by the CJP Party. This has created considerable tension, and they may at any time start a fight and disrupt the peace. I am satisfied with the report from the aforementioned police station and am convinced that, based on the facts provided in the report, there is a strong possibility of the aforementioned protester causing a breach of peace.”

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Speaking to Careers360, Tripathi denied the basis of the allegation and questioned how he could have incited students at the university when he had not been on campus for around three months due to the summer break.

He said, “The university has remained closed since May because of the summer break, with online classes being conducted during this period.” He added that he left the university campus for the break before the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar and therefore could not have been physically mobilising university students to participate in it.

He also questioned the use of the term “anti-government propaganda”.

"If we are talking about the anti-student policies of the government, such as paper leaks and other issues related to them, and students dying by suicide, that does not mean we are saying it is anti-government.," he said.

He also said he had not received any other communication besides the WhatsApp orders through the inspector.

‘Attack on student leaders’: SFI

Abdul Wahab, SFI’s Uttar Pradesh State Secretary, said Tripathi's case appeared to be part of a broader pattern in which student activists who challenge university administrations are subjected to administrative pressure.

According to Wahab, Tripathi is the secretary of the SFI unit at Gautam Buddha University and has been raising issues concerning hostels, fees, academics and other administrative matters.

He stated, “This is the first such case involving a student in the state in connection with the Jantar Mantar protest. There could be a possibility that the action was the initiative of an individual police or administrative official rather than a broader government policy because Tripathi has been vocal on the student issues on the campus.”

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“This is a way of making students afraid of the administration to create the impression that they are powerful enough to overpower political dissent,” Wahab said

Disputes with Gautam Buddha University admin

SFI members see this case in the light of previous disputes between students and the university administration.

Tripathi said that he has been raising student issues on campus involving the university's proctor. In March, 16 students, including him, were fined Rs 2,000 each for being part of the WhatsApp group and were asked to submit affidavits stating that the alleged mistake would not be repeated in March, added Tripathi.

Tripathi said he had also complained that students were being harassed and had repeatedly approached the administration over hostel-related issues.

Wahab said, “These earlier confrontations could be relevant to the latest action, particularly because there was no obvious source through which the police could have learned that he was allegedly mobilising Gautam Buddha University students for the CJP protest.”

SFI said it was seeking further legal advice and attempting to establish whether similar notices had been issued to other students.