NLU Delhi Alumni Body Seeks Urgent Meeting with VC After Student Death

NLU Delhi Alumni Governing Body Seeks Urgent Meeting with VC

The Probe reported on Thursday the alleged suicide of Amrutavarshiny Senthil Kumar, a third-year BA LLB (Honours) student at National Law University Delhi. Found dead in her hostel on September 4, 2024, her tragic death has raised serious concerns within the campus community. In our previous coverage, interviews with professors, hostel staff, students, and close friends of Amrutavarshiny revealed disturbing accounts of escalating sexual harassment, caste-based discrimination, and the silencing of whistleblowers at the campus.

In response to these alarming revelations, the NLU Delhi Alumni Association’s Governing Body has urgently addressed the university's leadership. In a letter to Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. G.S. Bajpai, Registrar Prof. Dr. Ruhi Paul, and the faculty, the alumni body has called for an urgent meeting on Sunday, September 8th at 12 noon.

The letter expresses the alumni’s deep concern, stating, “We are deeply anguished to hear about the recent incident(s) of suicide. Several rumours are circulating and the alumni body is severely perturbed by everything that is being said. We request for an urgent meeting between the Governing Board members and all of you on campus. We propose that the same be held on Sunday, September 8th at 12 noon. Kindly treat this as priority and confirm the meeting time as soon as possible.”

The Probe Accesses Governing Body’s Email Correspondences with NLUD Administration

The Probe has accessed email correspondences between the Governing Body members and the NLU Delhi administration. In these communications, the Governing Body has raised 10 critical questions for the administration to address. These questions, which focus on both the circumstances surrounding the recent student death and broader institutional issues, are expected to be discussed in the upcoming meeting.

Here are the questions that the administration has been asked to respond to:

Governing Body Member Writes Hard Hitting Mail to NLUD Administration 

Apart from the email sent by the NLU Delhi Alumni Governing Body to the NLUD Vice Chancellor, Registrar, and faculty calling for an urgent meeting, another Governing Body member, Sushant Singh, has sent a hard-hitting email to the administration, raising additional questions. The Probe has accessed these correspondences and presents them below:

Governing Body Members Distance Themselves from Sushant Singh

In a noticeable internal rift within the NLU Delhi Alumni Association, following Sushant Singh's hard-hitting email to the NLU Delhi administration, other members of the Governing Body have distanced themselves from Singh and the critical questions posed in his email. Below is the email sent by the Governing Body members distancing themselves from Sushant Singh's communication to the administration. 

The emails accessed by The Probe underscore a pressing need for the NLU Delhi administration to address serious issues. These correspondences reinforce our earlier report, which highlighted the superficial measures taken against the alleged perpetrator of a sexual harassment complaint, despite a proctorial inquiry.

Our previous report detailed how NLU Delhi appears to be plagued by a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and discrimination against marginalised students. Communications with college faculty and students revealed troubling patterns of misconduct.

In an interview with The Probe, a professor who previously taught Amrutavarshiny disclosed that one of her friends had reported a sexual harassment case involving a batchmate. Amrutavarshiny was notably outspoken against such abuses. Although the college's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) investigated the matter, it seems to be just one of many cases that did not reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Another NLUD professor, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that a list circulated among students categorised individuals by caste and specified derogatory terms that could be used against each group.

Additionally, The Probe learned from a friend of Amrutavarshiny about the women's movement at NLU Delhi known as the Seven Angry Women and its subsequent suppression. The friend disclosed, "A disturbing list was circulated among some male students within the college, rating women based on their perceived attractiveness, which was solely judged by the male gaze and focused on physical bodily appearance." 

Amrutavarshiny was a vocal supporter of this movement, which aimed to create a safer environment for female students. The Seven Angry Women, an anonymous collective, had previously posted numerous pink posters around the campus. It was also revealed that Amrutavarshiny faced ostracism for her involvement in a movement that challenged the atrocities faced by women students.

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