Hyderabad, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A group of students at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law in Hyderabad screened filmmaker Lalit Vachani’s documentary on imprisoned activist Umar Khalid, Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, on campus without obtaining permission from the university administration, officials said on Thursday.
The 60-minute documentary was screened on Wednesday evening, with around 30 students attending the event. Organisers said heavy rain prevented a larger gathering, with some attendees seen carrying umbrellas during the screening.
The documentary has not been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the statutory film-certification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
According to the organisers, the screening was intended as a space for solidarity and discussion. They said the documentary raises questions concerning rights, accountability and the human cost of prolonged incarceration and was organised in solidarity with Umar Khalid.
The event marked six years since Khalid’s arrest in September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case. Khalid, a former student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University, has remained in custody since his arrest. He faces charges under the UAPA and other laws, while the trial in the case is yet to begin.
The NALSAR screening comes amid controversy surrounding planned screenings of the documentary at other educational institutions.
At the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, the Law and Society Committee had cancelled a scheduled screening after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) objected. The RSS-backed student organisation had emailed the university administration seeking that the screening be stopped.
The documentary was also scheduled to be screened at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-Hyderabad), under the platform No Tyrants, No Silence (NTNS). The institute had issued disciplinary warnings to eight students associated with the platform, which sought to facilitate discussions on caste, merit and politics.
The CBFC had said on September 17 that publicly screening a documentary without certification would violate the Cinematograph Act unless a specific exemption had been granted.
The NALSAR screening was part of a series of solidarity screenings and gatherings planned at different locations across the country.
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