The Law and Society Committee (LawSoc) of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, has cancelled the scheduled screening of the documentary ‘Prisoner No. 626710 is Present’, citing threats of criminal action, intimidation, doxxing and other forms of harassment faced by the organisers.The documentary, directed by filmmaker Lalit Vachani, focuses on the incarceration of activist Umar Khalid. The screening was planned as part of programmes marking Political Prisoners Day and was initially scheduled for September 14.It was later postponed to September 19 following opposition to the event and amid concerns over logistics and security.In a communication to students, LawSoc said the decision was taken after several rounds of discussions with the Student Bar Association (SBA) and the university administration.“…As LawSoc, we continue to be undeterred and deeply committed to questions of freedom and justice… Equally, we are committed to the safety and security of our own peers and the wider NLS community. Thus, after several rounds of discussions with the SBA and administration, we have decided not to proceed with the screening of the film,” the committee said.The committee said the decision did not amount to stepping away from the broader issues surrounding Political Prisoners Day or criminal justice. Instead, it said it would continue to engage “informatively and critically” with the questions raised by the present moment.The other programmes planned for September 19 went ahead.These included a discussion titled “UAPA: Bail & Beyond” with Professor Radhika Chitkara, followed by an open-house arts evening organised under Ka’law’kriti. LawSoc subsequently held the first session of a new series, ‘The Criminal Justice Conversations’.The proposed screening had earlier drawn strong opposition from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which had urged the university administration to prevent what it described as the misuse of academic spaces for “political or ideological propaganda”.Following the cancellation, ABVP Bengaluru issued a statement opposing the proposed screening. Its secretary, Abhinandan Mirji, said, “Academic freedom cannot be used to shield subversive agendas targeting national sovereignty.”The organisation said that while campuses should have space for free speech and discussion, premier legal institutions should not become platforms for individuals it alleged were associated with glorifying attacks on India or advocating the secession and fragmentation of Jammu and Kashmir.The screening had originally been planned to mark Political Prisoners Day, observed on September 13, and six years since Khalid’s arrest in connection with the case relating to the 2020 Delhi riots.LawSoc had earlier said the programme was intended to facilitate discussion on issues including pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, political incarceration, and the relationship between criminal law and democratic freedoms.