Students of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) on Monday launched a unique and impromptu form of protest — standing in class for up to five hours a day — as they continued their demand for the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Professor Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti.

The protest began after an initial plan to wear black bands. “(Standing) is something that students themselves undertook on their own volition. But as of now, looking at student enthusiasm and discussions, students seem keen on continuing this and any other form of protest that does not disrupt class and academic activities,” a fourth-year student told The Indian Express.

According to students of the university, first and second-year students have six hours of classes daily, while third-year and above have five hours.

This follows the Supreme Court’s September 12 observation in connection with a 2023 sexual harassment complaint against Chakrabarti. The complaint, filed by a faculty member, alleged harassment between 2019 and April 2023. It was initially dismissed by the internal complaints committee citing the statutory three-month filing limit.

Professor Chakrabarti told The Indian Express that he submitted a modification application to the Supreme Court on Sunday, since he had been ordered on September 12 to include the complaint on his resume by the court, though it also dismissed the complaint. “(The students) are doing this out of some instigation, and the authorities had told them that since the matter is subjudice in the Supreme Court, they cannot say anything. They are bringing a bad name to the institution,” he said.

The latest action comes after Chakrabarti was gheraoed for nearly 20 hours on Sunday before he left the Salt Lake campus. On Saturday, students had staged a demonstration demanding his resignation amid allegations of financial mismanagement, misconduct, and sexual harassment.

The protests coincided with a general council meeting on the campus attended by Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Dutta and State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, where students held up posters reading “I do not accept this V-C” and “Remove V-C”.

In July last year, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court directed the committee to re-examine the complaint. However, in December, on appeal, the HC reversed its decision, upholding the dismissal on grounds of delay in filing.