The Delhi High Court has observed that university students have a valuable right to express dissent, demonstrate or show support for a demonstration, holding that merely smiling at protestors cannot be treated as an act of indiscipline.

Justice Jasmeet Singh made the observation while staying fine of Rs. 19,000 imposed by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on eight students, on the ground of indiscipline.

The students had challenged a show cause notice issued by the University's Chief Proctor, followed by the Proctorial Committee's orders imposing the fine on them.

The allegations against them were that five of them were involved in “aggressively shaking the camera stands and cheering the students involved in vandalising the FRT system” and three of them were “encouraging and supporting the act of vandalism by clapping and sloganeering.” The students replied to the show cause notice and denied indulging in the alleged acts.

Granting interim relief to them, the Court said that even if the allegations contained in the show cause notice were presumed to be correct, the students, at best, were only seen smiling at the protestors, which does not constitute any infraction which can be categorized as indiscipline of any sort.

Justice Singh further said that students' right to express dissent, demonstrate and express support by cheering for a demonstration constitutes a valuable right which cannot be curbed or interdicted.

“I cannot lose sight of the fact that the petitioners are students in the respondent University and as a student, the right to express dissent/demonstrate and/or to express support by way of cheering for a demonstration, to my mind, constitutes a valuable right which cannot be allowed to be curbed or interdicted in any manner. The students/petitioners cannot be allowed to be punished for an act of such a nature,” the Court said.

It added that the impugned act of the University was in the nature of “striking a blow at the fundamental rights of the petitioners and the same cannot be allowed.”

Finding that the students had made out a prima facie case, the Court held that allowing the fine to operate at this stage would result in grave injury to their valuable rights.

Accordingly, the Court stayed the Rs. 19,000 fine imposed on each of the eight students till the next date of hearing.

The matter is now listed for January 12, 2027.

Counsel for Petitioners: Mr. Abhik Chimni, Ms Moksha Sharma, Ms Pranjal Abrol, Mr Gurupal Singh, Mr Ayan Dasgupta, Mr Tushar Chandra, Advs

Counsel for Respondent: Ms. Ginny Jetley Rautray, Senior Standing Counsel with Mr. Arnav Tandon, Adv

Title: MR C ARJUN & ORS v. JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

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