BENGALURU: Several organisations in Karnataka and across India have come out in support of SPARK Reading Circle and students of Azim Premji University (APU), after the university administration filed an FIR against the students for publishing an invite for an event related to Kunan Poshpora 1991, without the permission of the university authorities.
People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), National Alliance for Justice, Accountability and Rights (NAJAR), alumni of APU who studied from 2003 to 2025 and Bahutva Karnataka have criticised the university’s move, and demanded that the FIR against students is revoked.
PUCL president Arvind Narain said, “The APU administration has failed to honour the constitutional mandate of Article 51-A(h), to develop a scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform. The role of a university is to foster discussion even on difficult issues, not shut down speech. The fact that in this case the shutting down of speech was in response to the vigilante action on APU’s campus, makes APU complicit in silencing its own students and abandoning the mandate to foster a spirit of conversation.”
He added, “We urge the government of Karnataka to unilaterally withdraw the prosecution which targets students, and call upon law enforcement authorities to conduct a prompt investigation, ensuring that those responsible for the attack at APU are held accountable under the law.”
Meanwhile, Bahutva Karnataka has written to APU Vice-Chancellor Richa Govil to revoke the FIR filed against the students. The letter stated that the non-bailable FIR filed against SPARK Reading Circle (APU) members be withdrawn, and the intruders who assaulted students and vandalised property are punished. It also urged the university to show commitment to protecting the fundamental rights of its students.
On February 24, the university filed an FIR against SPARK Reading Circle under various sections of Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhita (BNSS). In the FIR copy, the registrar of the university stated that there is no relation between the university and SPARK Reading Circle and that it has been spreading false news against the university and defaming its name.