Students of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru have boycotted their end semester examinations that were scheduled to begin on Saturday.
The students have intensified their protest demanding the appointment of the Vice Chancellor that was shortlisted by the search committee.
The students sat outside their examination halls and told their faculty members that they will not appear for the examination till their demand is met. However, in-charge Vice Chancellor M.K. Ramesh in an e-mail to the students on Monday stated if anybody disrupts the activities, they will be firmly dealt with under law.
A press release sent on Sunday by the Student Bar Association (SBA) said the students were left with no other avenue than to continue their protest. “With the end-term examinations commencing on September 23, an indefinite protest inevitably means boycotting these exams. This decision has not been arrived [at] lightly, or in the heat of the moment. If our protest does not continue, we do not see this administration respecting the findings of this report.”
The SBA’s statement refers to the findings of the four-member committee formed to look into questions from the students, which, the release stated, “confirmed fears” of the composition of the Executive Council being changed one week before its 89th meeting.
The student body has been urging the administration to complete the remaining formalities in the process of appointment of the next Vice-Chancellor of the university.
They alleged a conflict of interest of the Registrar, delay in appointment, and an alteration in the composition of the Executive Council from its previous session, and demanded the recusal of the Registrar from any further involvement in the process of appointment of the Vice-Chancellor.
