Presidency University has taken strict disciplinary action by expelling two women students following allegations that they wrote abusive remarks on a poster featuring Swami Vivekananda and directed offensive language toward other campus organizations. The decision comes after an internal inquiry committee reviewed closed-circuit television footage and interviewed various stakeholders involved in the matter. Under the expulsion orders, the students are barred from participating in any further academic activities at the institution and will not be permitted to seek admission to future degree programs offered by the university.
A university official confirmed that the inquiry committee thoroughly examined the available video evidence and listened to concerned parties before arriving at its conclusion. The administration has chosen to withhold the identities of the two expelled individuals. In an official statement, the university emphasized its long-standing commitment to maintaining dignified academic discourse and debates surrounding scientific and socio-political topics, making it clear that it maintains a zero-tolerance stance toward abuse directed at thinkers, foundational ideas, or campus organizations.
The controversy originally erupted after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad reported that derogatory comments had been scrawled across a poster of Swami Vivekananda, which the group had installed on campus on October 13. Following the incident, the ABVP lodged a formal police complaint demanding an impartial probe and strict punishment for the culprits, alongside staging a demonstration outside the university gates. Meanwhile, the Left-affiliated Students' Federation of India distanced itself from the episode, condemning the defacement and clarifying that none of its members had instigated or taken part in any action insulting the social reformer.
The SFI also asserted that it had no intention of offending Hindu religious sentiments and similarly called for a transparent investigation utilizing campus footage to hold the actual perpetrators accountable. Despite the surrounding political friction and denials from various student factions, the university proceeded with its internal disciplinary measures, finalizing the expulsion of the two identified students and permanently restricting them from campus academic programs.