NLSIU protests called off after clarification on VC appointment by CJI Gogoi, Justice Bobde

The four-day long protests at National Law School of India University (NLSIU Bangalore) have come to a halt after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SA Bobde offered some clarity as to the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor of the University.

Protests against the non-appointment of Prof Sudhir Krishnaswamy as the next VC of NLSIU began on Friday, when students decided to boycott classes. The sit-in protest was held in light of information that there was likely to be a change in the composition of the Executive Council (EC) of NLSIU, which would, in turn, have a bearing on the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor.

The protests continued into Saturday when the Registrar and the Vice-Chancellor (FAC) Prof MK Ramesh addressed the students, who put forth certain questions to the administration. As the deadlock continued, students decided to boycott their exams which had been scheduled to start on Monday.

The Student Bar Association (SBA) had earlier alleged that the Registrar was responsible for the delay of Prof Krishnaswamy’s appointment.

After requests from the student body, Senior Advocate and alumnus of NLSIU Gopal Sankaranarayanan approached CJI Gogoi and Justice Bobde to garner some clarity regarding the issue. CJI Gogoi is the Chancellor of the University, whereas Justice Bobde headed the sub-committee that approved Prof Krishnaswamy’s appointment as the next VC. The judges agreed to meet Sankaranarayanan in chambers at 1 pm today to discuss the issue.

In a letter addressed to the students of NLSIU, Sankaranarayanan put forth the details of the discussion with the judges. The Senior Counsel had brought the students’ grievances to the attention of the judges.

In response, the judges said that there was a lot of misinformation doing the rounds. In this light, the response of the judges, as detailed in the letter are as follows: