The National Law School of India University’s Law and Society Committee had scheduled a screening of Lalit Vachani’s documentary “Prisoner No. 626710 is Present,” about imprisoned activist Umar Khalid, for September 14. The date was chosen deliberately. It marked Political Prisoners’ Day, observed on September 13, and the sixth anniversary of Khalid’s arrest. Organizers said the screening was meant to spark discussion on pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, and the broader relationship between criminal law and democratic freedoms.
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The Postponement
The screening has now been pushed back. NLSIU’s student organizers cited “logistical and security considerations” for the delay, and stressed they were not backing down under outside pressure. Sources close to the matter say the actual trigger was scheduling. September 14 coincides with Ganesh Chaturthi, a date that would have stretched campus security arrangements thin.
ABVP Claims Credit Anyway
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS-backed student organization, had sent a letter to NLSIU’s Vice Chancellor urging the administration to stop what it called the misuse of academic spaces for political or ideological propaganda. It also emailed a formal complaint demanding the screening be stopped altogether, saying it received no response.
Who Umar Khalid Is
Khalid is a former JNU research scholar who became a prominent figure in student politics after the 2016 JNU sedition row. He has been in custody since 2020, charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act over an alleged larger conspiracy behind the Delhi riots that year.
Part Of A Wider Pattern
This is not an isolated incident. Weeks earlier, JNU’s own administration revoked permission for a venue booked to host a discussion on Khalid’s book. Campus screenings and discussions tied to Khalid have repeatedly run into resistance from right-wing student groups at multiple universities this year, turning his case into a recurring flashpoint over academic freedom versus political sensitivity.
