JNUSU denies role in Delhi pollution stir, refutes police charges in FIR

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) denied any association with the recent anti-pollution protest at India Gate, calling the FIR naming it a set of “false claims” made by the Delhi police to “hatch a conspiracy” against the union.

The Delhi police, in its FIR, alleged that protesters shouted “pro-Maoist slogans” during the demonstration on Sunday (November 26, 2025). Following the protest against worsening air quality in the national capital, the police accused JNUSU and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) of raising slogans and displaying banners in support of Madvi Hidma, a Maoist leader killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh earlier this month, along with “other Maoist slogans”.

The police also arrested 22 participants on Monday (November 24, 2025), claiming that the protest turned violent.

In its statement, the JNUSU said: “It has come to our attention that the Delhi police has mentioned JNUSU as the organiser in its FIR regarding the protest that took place at India Gate on Sunday. JNUSU unequivocally denies the false claims made by the police to hatch a conspiracy against JNUSU.”

‘Will fight back’

The FIR dated November 23 states in Hindi: “It was known from social media and reliable sources that on November 23 at 4 p.m., under the banner of the Delhi Co-ordinate Committee for Clean Air, members of AISA, JNUSU will protest at India Gate.”

JNUSU countered this, saying they have records showing they informed the Delhi police that the union was neither organising nor participating in Sunday’s (November 23, 2025) protest. JNUSU office-bearers told The Hindu that they had held a protest at Jantar Mantar last Wednesday (November 19, 2025) and were not involved in the India Gate demonstration. “JNUSU will fight back any attempt to derail and delegitimise the union along with the movement for a pollution-free Delhi,” they added in a statement.