Introduction
College students have the right to pursue their education in an environment that respects their safety, dignity and well-being. Recent events surrounding Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) in Delhi have once again brought questions about student safety into public attention.
On September 21, 2026, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by three men at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir. The girl had reportedly been with a 17-year-old male friend when the men allegedly approached them. The incident was followed by police action, and one of the accused was apprehended near the area close to LSR’s back gate. LSR temporarily shifted classes online amid safety concerns before resuming offline classes on September 24. Students subsequently held a solidarity march and raised concerns regarding lighting, CCTV coverage, police patrolling and safety around the college and surrounding areas.
Do College Students Have A Right To A Safe Learning Environment?
There is no single provision that guarantees safety from every possible danger around a college campus. However, higher educational institutions operate within a broader framework of regulations and guidelines concerning student welfare, safety, harassment and grievance redressal.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued guidelines concerning the safety of students on and off the campuses of higher educational institutions. The framework recognises the need for mechanisms addressing student concerns and provides for measures including student counselling systems and mechanisms dealing with the concerns of women students.
This means that campus safety is not limited to preventing incidents inside classroom buildings. Institutions are also expected to have systems through which students can raise safety-related concerns and seek appropriate support.
What If Students Feel Unsafe Because Of Harassment?
Harassment can take several forms, including stalking, unwanted sexual conduct, threats, intimidation and other behaviour that makes a student feel unsafe. The legal remedy depends on what actually occurred.
Where conduct amounts to a criminal offence, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) may apply. For example, Section 75 BNS deals with specified forms of sexual harassment, while Section 74 addresses assault or criminal force against a woman with the intention or knowledge of outraging her modesty. Other provisions may apply where the conduct involves stalking, intimidation, physical assault or other offences.
The important distinction is that feeling unsafe can be a legitimate reason to raise a concern with an institution, but criminal liability depends on whether the particular conduct satisfies the ingredients of an offence.
What Protection Exists Against Sexual Harassment In College?
Women students in higher educational institutions have specific institutional protections against sexual harassment under the UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2015. The UGC continues to list these regulations among its student-centric regulations.
Higher educational institutions are expected to have mechanisms for receiving and addressing complaints of sexual harassment. The UGC’s SAKSHAM portal also provides information regarding safety mechanisms and allows complaints concerning violence and harassment against women in higher educational institutions to be submitted through its grievance system.
This institutional mechanism is separate from criminal proceedings. If the facts also disclose a criminal offence, a student may have grounds to approach the police in addition to using the institutional complaint mechanism.
What If The Threat Comes From Outside The Campus?
A college’s responsibilities and the State’s law-enforcement responsibilities are not identical. If a criminal offence occurs on a public road, park or other area outside the institution, the police and other public authorities have the primary responsibility for investigating and preventing crime.
However, a college can still have an important role when students repeatedly report safety concerns relating to routes used to access the institution, surrounding areas or situations affecting their ability to attend classes safely.
The recent LSR protests illustrate this distinction. Students raised concerns not only about the college premises but also about surrounding roads, parks, lighting, CCTV coverage and police presence. Reports also stated that students had raised concerns about stalking and harassment around the college’s back gate. These are reported student concerns and do not by themselves establish that any particular person committed an offence.
Can Students Raise A Formal Grievance?
The UGC (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2023 provide a formal framework for addressing student grievances in higher educational institutions. The UGC lists these regulations among its current student-centric regulations.
Depending on the nature of the complaint, students can raise concerns through the institution’s Student Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC). The framework covers various categories of student grievances and provides an institutional mechanism for their consideration.
This can be particularly relevant where the issue concerns the institution’s response to a student’s grievance, discrimination, harassment, victimisation or another matter falling within the regulations. A student does not necessarily have to wait for a situation to become a criminal case before raising an institutional concern.
What If A Student Is Sexually Assaulted?
Where a student is sexually assaulted, the matter can involve criminal law as well as institutional mechanisms.
Depending on the facts, provisions of the BNS may apply. Where the victim is below 18 years of age, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) may also apply because the Act provides special protections to children against sexual offences.
A student who is the victim of a sexual offence can therefore have more than one possible legal route. Criminal proceedings can be initiated where the statutory requirements are satisfied, while institutional mechanisms may address the student’s safety, support and educational environment. The two processes serve different purposes and one does not automatically replace the other.
What About Mental Health And Safety Concerns?
Feeling unsafe can affect a student’s mental health, particularly when the concern is ongoing or involves repeated harassment. UGC’s safety guidelines recognise the importance of student counselling systems for concerns including anxiety, stress, fear, failure and academic worries.
The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 separately recognises the right to access mental healthcare. This means that a student experiencing psychological distress can seek appropriate mental-health support irrespective of whether the underlying situation amounts to a criminal offence.
For institutions, providing access to counselling and support mechanisms can therefore form an important part of addressing student welfare, even where no criminal case is involved.
Can Students Demand Better Safety Measures?
Students can raise concerns collectively through recognised institutional channels, student bodies and other lawful mechanisms. Depending on the institution and the nature of the issue, concerns can be communicated to college authorities, university authorities, grievance committees or relevant public authorities.
Recent LSR students’ protests involved demands for stronger security measures, including concerns regarding CCTV surveillance, lighting and police patrolling. Students from other Delhi University institutions also participated in the solidarity march.
The existence of a protest or demand, however, does not itself establish that a particular authority has violated a specific legal duty. The precise legal responsibility depends on the facts, applicable regulations and the nature of the safety concern.
What Should A Student Do If They Feel Unsafe?
A student facing an immediate threat can contact the police or emergency services rather than attempting to confront the person responsible. Where the concern involves harassment or sexual harassment within the institution, the student can use the applicable institutional complaint mechanism. Where the issue concerns discrimination, victimisation or another recognised student grievance, the institution’s grievance redressal system may also be available.
Students can preserve relevant evidence such as messages, emails, photographs, CCTV-related information, dates, locations and details of witnesses where it is safe and lawful to do so. They can also inform a trusted person or seek counselling when the situation is affecting their mental health. Where the incident involves a child, additional safeguards under laws such as POCSO may apply.
What Legal Protections Should College Students Know?
College students can keep several legal frameworks in mind. The UGC Safety of Students guidelines provide a framework for student safety and counselling. The UGC Sexual Harassment Regulations, 2015 provide an institutional mechanism for sexual-harassment complaints involving women students. The UGC Grievance Regulations, 2023 provide a mechanism for specified student grievances. The BNS provides criminal remedies where conduct satisfies the ingredients of offences such as sexual harassment, assault, stalking, intimidation or other unlawful acts. Where the victim is a child, the POCSO Act provides additional protections.
These mechanisms are not interchangeable. A student safety concern may require institutional intervention, police action, counselling or more than one form of response depending on the circumstances.
Conclusion
The recent concerns raised by students at LSR demonstrate why student safety is not limited to what happens inside a classroom or behind a college gate. Students may travel through surrounding roads, use public transport, live in nearby accommodation and spend time in public spaces as part of their daily academic life.
At the same time, legal responsibility has to be assessed carefully. A crime occurring near a college does not automatically make the institution legally responsible for that crime. The relevant question is what duties, regulations and mechanisms apply to the particular safety concern and whether the appropriate authorities have been approached.
Indian law provides college students with several avenues of protection through criminal law, UGC regulations, sexual-harassment mechanisms, grievance redressal systems, counselling frameworks and child-protection laws where applicable.
Ultimately, students should not have to remain silent when they have genuine safety concerns. Knowing where to report a problem, what evidence to preserve and which legal mechanism applies can be an important part of protecting both personal safety and the right to education.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general legal information and does not determine the guilt or legal liability of any person or institution involved in the incidents discussed. The allegations concerning the recent incident near LSR remain subject to investigation and judicial proceedings. The applicability of a particular legal provision depends on the facts and evidence of each case.
