Law University Students Show Up In Shorts After V-C Says Women Shouldn't Wear Them to Class |
Listen to this article:
New Delhi: Students turned up in shorts in front of the administrative block of the Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU) on Thursday (April 16) in protest over remarks made by the vice chancellor, Professor V. Nagaraj that women wearing shorts “invites sexual harassment”. They have demanded a public apology from the vice chancellor, which the latter has refused so far.
V-C Nagaraj allegedly made the remarks on Wednesday, April 15, during a routine meeting with class representatives of the five LLB batches and LLM students. Apart from him, the registrar, the deans of undergraduate and postgraduate programs, and other members of the administration, including the faculty who heads the centre for women’s welfare, were also present at the meeting.
This is not the first time Professor Nagaraj has made such remarks.
According to the students, the remarks were made without reason, during a conversation about a curfew on students’ access to the hostel terrace. Initially, they released a statement of condemnation, copies of which were put up as posters around the campus.
TNNLU students’ protest outside administrative block over V-C Nagaraj’s remarks, on April 16, 2026. Photo: By arrangement
Here’s what they said:
“During an official Class Representatives Meeting, Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) V. Nagaraj stated that women students wearing shorts “invites sexual harassment” and constitutes a “distraction” even for faculty members. Notably, he also expressed that he is “very proud” of similar remarks he previously made during the widely reported NLSIU controversy, offering no retraction or regret for that prior conduct.
We, the student community, unequivocally condemn and categorically reject these remarks.
The Vice Chancellor’s statements across two institutions signals not an isolated lapse in judgment, but a pattern of institutional conduct that normalises harassment and burdens its victims.
We formally demand a public retraction and apology, an institutional inquiry, and an affirmation that clothing does not contribute to harassment.
We call upon fellow NLUs and the legal fraternity at large, to stand with us.”
The students’ statement condemning the V-C’s remarks. Photo: By arrangement
The students alleged that the posters were quickly removed by the administration.
“We were upset. All we wanted further from the V-C was an apology and we tried to get this communicated through the class representatives, and by the most peaceful form of protest – by just printing out a poster,” said a final year student of TNNLU.
“We went around campus, putting it on various doors on all different department buildings, and after a couple of hours, we saw that it had been removed on the instructions of the administration members. So, we went around again, putting those posters up,” the student said.
Gathered outside the vice chancellor’s office at the administrative block on campus, the students raised slogans, “V-C sir, V-C sir, we need apology!”
The protesting students have also demanded approving the constitution of the student body association, the proposal for which was submitted last month, as well as the immediate constitution of a student-led committee to draft POSH policy which has been inactive since the previous vice chancellor, Professor V.S. Elizabeth left in 2023.
What happened at the meeting?
As per the minutes of the meeting, the vice chancellor said he was “very proud” of making such statements during a previous fiasco at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), defending the stand he had taken then. Professor Nagaraj, the minutes stated, “shows no regret for the earlier comment made by him in NLSIU.”
In 2016, Professor Nagaraj, then a faculty member at NLSIU, had faced backlash from students over similar sexist remarks against a female student for wearing shorts to his class. Following the remarks, the entire class had turned up in shorts.
Minutes of the meeting of vice chancellor with class representatives. Photo: By arrangement
In the case of the TNNLU incident, Nagaraj allegedly said that students should wear “proper” dresses to classes and outside the university, and that in the hostel they may wear as they choose, making it about morality.
As per the minutes, he further said that “students and faculty are ‘distracted’ by such dress code followed and it invites sexual harassment of women. He explicitly requested the CRs to consider this issue and bring forward the request if they wanted to make any request regarding moderation of the dress code.”
Vice chancellor V. Nagaraj addressing the students outside administrative block on TNNLU campus. Photo: By arrangement
The minutes also stated that no other administration member opposed the vice chancellor’s remarks.
Meanwhile, Bar and Bench reported that as per TNNLU registrar Prof S.M. Balakrishnan, the vice-chancellor was only recalling the NLSIU incident, adding that the students have taken the words out of context and misunderstood the vice-chancellor.
What the vice-chancellor has said
Following the students’ protest this afternoon, V-C Nagaraj addressed the students outside the administration block but refused to withdraw his statement.
He began by saying that “no vice-chancellor can make a dress code” for students of a college, but added, “In my opinion, to improve the image of the institution, presentable dressing may be a factor”.
He dismissed the students’ questions as being their opinion. He also accused the students of speaking to the media “without understanding what was said” in the meeting a day earlier.