Overview
- Organisers from the Law & Society Committee said they postponed the screening for security and logistical reasons and denied they were bowing to outside pressure.
- ABVP Bengaluru had filed a formal complaint asking the university to cancel the event and continued to demand an outright cancellation after the postponement.
- The university has not publicly revoked permission for the screening and organisers said the event will be rescheduled within the current trimester.
- The screening was planned as a show of solidarity on the sixth anniversary of Umar Khalid’s arrest; Khalid has been held since September 2020 on charges including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and remains awaiting trial.
- The NLSIU decision follows a similar recent venue revocation at JNU and highlights a wider clash over campus free speech, administrative duties to maintain safety, and how student groups and nationalist organisations use formal complaints and disruptions to influence programming.