A major student protest erupted at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru late Tuesday night, with hundreds of students assembling at the basketball court on the Nagarabhavi campus to voice concerns over deteriorating living conditions, inadequate infrastructure, safety hazards and rising financial burdens.

The protest began around 10 pm and continued through the night until nearly 5 am on Wednesday. Students later regrouped in the afternoon, demanding immediate action from the university administration on a range of longstanding grievances.

Students who participated in the demonstration alleged that basic amenities across hostels and campus facilities have steadily worsened in recent months. Several students, speaking on condition of anonymity, said issues such as malfunctioning taps, broken flush systems, faulty jet sprays and unreliable drinking water facilities had become routine.

“Water supply dysfunction often. Even water coolers fail to provide normal drinking water. There have also been instances where soiled water is running through portable water taps,” a student alleged.

Many students also accused the administration of being unresponsive to repeated complaints. According to them, Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy exercises excessive control over day-to-day functioning while failing to address larger institutional problems.

“Even decisions as minor as turning on air-conditioning in classrooms reportedly require approval from the VC while temperatures are soaring as well. There is no autonomy or meaningful engagement with our concerns,” another student added.

Accommodation issues in women’s hostels emerged as another major point of contention during the protest. Students raised issues such as with multiple students forced to share small rooms fitted with bunk beds and living in compromising conditions.

According to students, the disparity between hostel infrastructure for men and women has widened significantly. While the men’s hostel reportedly contains 18 bunk beds, the women’s hostel has as many as 93. Some students alleged that on certain floors, nearly 36 women students are compelled to share only three toilets.

Apart from accommodation concerns, students also raised serious questions about campus safety amid ongoing construction work.

They referred to an incident on April 15 when a portion of a concrete slab near the entrance of the New Academic Block collapsed between 8.20 am and 8.25 am. Another similar incident was reportedly recorded inside the men’s hostel on May 12. No injuries were reported in either case.

Students further alleged that a lift inside one of the men’s hostels malfunctioned and fell from the second floor to the basement while occupants were inside.

On Wednesday afternoon, Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy met protesting students on Wednesday afternoon. According to students present at the meeting, the Vice-Chancellor informed them that he was willing to hear their concerns and would provide responses in writing over the next seven to ten days in a phased manner.

On social media as well, protesters gathered support. Arathi Venkat, an alumna of the premier institute wrote on X: “I am a NLSIU graduate way back in 1997, the campus was new, strict cap on 70 students/batch…but we lived like beggars even then. Now students speak their mind! Why can’t students live in comfort & be taken care of?”

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