Students protest at DU law faculty over admit card denial; university later allows 'provisional entry'

NEW DELHI : Tensions flared at Delhi University's Law Faculty on Tuesday after over 150 students were denied admit cards for upcoming exams due to low attendance, triggering protests by the students who disrupted an exam. However, the Faculty of Law issued an official notice later in the day stating that all the students who have been "detained due to shortage of attendance are being provisionally allowed" to sit in the LLB term examination in May-June, subject to the outcome of the Enquiry Committee. The notice added that this decision was issued "under the directions of the Competent Authority".

The situation escalated late Monday night when a group of students allegedly broke into the examination department. By morning, they locked the examination centre, declaring, "If we can't sit for the exam, no one will." As a result, the 9:30 am exam was delayed by two hours. The university administration eventually intervened, broke the lock, and conducted the exam. Students without admit cards were not permitted to enter, sources said.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) condemned the denial of admit cards, claiming that as many as 300 students were arbitrarily barred from appearing in the exams just three days before they were scheduled to begin. In a statement, the student wing of RSS, ABVP, alleged bias by the Law Faculty administration, specifically pointing to the issuance of an admit card to Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) president and NSUI leader Raunak Khatri though he reportedly did not meet the mandatory attendance requirement. "This is indicative of the non-academic and biased attitude of the Dean of the Law Faculty," ABVP stated, demanding an immediate explanation and calling for the Dean's resignation.

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"Hundreds of students are upset due to this biased act," the statement added. ABVP workers have been staging a sit-in protest since Monday night, accusing the administration of collusion with NSUI, the Congress' student wing, and ignoring students' academic interests. ABVP Delhi state secretary Sarthak Sharma said, "It is very unfortunate that institutions meant to protect students' futures are instead destroying their dreams. "Why was the DUSU President given special privilege while hundreds were denied the same?" Sharma said the ABVP would continue their protests till the issue was resolved. "ABVP will fight against this injustice till the last breath," he said.