Jamia bans entry of Safoora, two others on campus

Decision taken to ‘maintain peaceful academic environment’, says university

Former Jamia student Safoora Zargar was arrested in connection with a north-east Delhi riots case in 2020. | Photo Credit: File photo

The Jamia Millia Islamia administration has banned the entry of three of its former students, including scholar and activist Safoora Zargar, who was arrested in a 2020 north-east Delhi riots case, on its campus for “organising agitations against irrelevant issues”. 

According to the orders signed by the Chief Proctor, dated September 14, the “campus ban” on Ms.  Zargar and other two were approved for maintaining a “peaceful academic environment across the campus”. 

When contacted, Ms. Zargar declined to comment on the order. 

Last month, the Jamia Millia Islamia administration had cancelled the admission of Ms. Zargar, citing an “unsatisfactory” progress report by the supervisor. She had enrolled with the Department of Sociology in the integrated MPhil/PhD programme.

The “campus ban” order against Ms. Zargar states that she was involved in organising agitations, protests and marches on the campus against “irrelevant and objectionable issues to disturb the peaceful academic environment”.

“She is instigating innocent students of the university and trying to use its platform for her mala fide political agenda, along with some other students. Further, she is hampering the normal functioning of the institution,” the order against Ms. Zargar read. 

The orders issued against the remaining former students stated that they were at the “forefront of unauthorised gatherings of students on the campus several times”, including one which took place in August in the university’s central canteen.