Student activist Shehla Rashid said on Thursday that she had got a notice from the proctor’s office of Jawaharlal Nehru University for claiming last month on social media that the university had blocked some YouTube channels on its Wi-Fi network.
“This is probably the first notice anyone has received for posting on social media!” she said on Twitter. “It’s not even in their purview!” Rashid, a former vice president of the JNU Students’ Union, is a doctorate student at the university.
On November 11, she had alleged on Twitter that Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had “censored” the Wi-Fi, and that online searches for certain keywords were unsuccessful on the campus network. Various other students had demanded an inquiry into the complaints that YouTube channels of several news websites were blocked for a day.
University officials had denied the claim.
According to the notice shared by her on Twitter, Rashid is required to appear for a hearing before the proctor on December 19 to explain her position. She may present evidence during the hearing to support her case.
If she does not appear for the hearing, “it shall be presumed that you have nothing to say in this matter”, the notice, dated December 7, said. In such a case, “the matter will be decided in your absence”, the notice said.
It is not clear yet whether other students who made similar claims also got such a notice.
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