DUSU Elections : Supreme Court To Hear Plea To Disqualify Candidates Who Violated Lyngdoh Committee's Recommendations

The Supreme Court today (November 25) issued a notice in a Special Leave Petition (C) against the Delhi High Court's order dated November 11 which refused to disqualify candidates who allegedly violated the Lyngdoh committee recommendations in the Delhi University Students' Union Elections.

In the November 11 order, the High Court in a public interest litigation issued a direction to the University of Delhi (Respondent) to undertake the counting of votes for the Delhi University Students' Union Election for the 2024-25 on or before November 26. This should be to the satisfaction of Delhi University with regard to cleanliness and repairing of the defaced properties of the University.

The High Court's order stated that it did not take action against erring students because of their young age and also because the nature of the proceedings is informative and not punitive. 

Before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B. Varale, the petitioner stated in the SLP that the High Court overlooked the binding recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee and the decision of the Supreme Court in the University of Kerala v. Council of Principals of Colleges, Kerala (2011).

The petitioner submitted that as per this decision, the erring students ought to have been disqualified from contesting elections. 

The petitioner has further argued that in the University of Kerala's decision, the Court had accepted the Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations which is aimed at curbing the influence of money, muscle power, and other unlawful means in university elections. 

It is the case of the petitioner that Delhi University failed to ensure compliance with the recommendations of the Committee. In fact, it allowed the candidates to blatantly violate them, rendering the entire election process tainted and causing public nuisance and harassment to students in general and public at large. 

The petitioners are Delhi University Research Scholars and law graduates who have stated: "These activities if permitted to perpetuate in brazen and unabated manner only encourage such student political leaders to have no fear of law and order or to assume that their wrongdoings can always be condoned given their young age."

"...the Hon'ble High Court deliberately overlooked the fact that defacement of public property, university premises, unauthorized use of luxury vehicles for campaign, employment of muscle power, printed pamphlets were use in large scale for campaigning and the said fact is evident from the records of the case as well as video footage of DUSU election campaigns. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in the list of documents filed before the High Court categorically mentions the name of candidates who were involved in defacement and various other violations," the plea stated.

The key recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee as cited by the petitioner are: 

1. The maximum permitted expenditure per candidate shall be Rs. 5000/.

2. Each candidate shall, within two weeks of the declaration of the result, submit complete and audited accounts to the college/ university authorities. The college/university shall publish such audited accounts, within 2 days of the submission of such accounts, through a suitable medium so that any member of the student body may freely examine the same.

3. The election of the candidate will be nullified in the event of any noncompliance or in the event of any excessive expenditure.

4. No candidate shall be permitted to make use of printed posters, printed pamphlets, or any other printed material for the purpose of canvassing. Candidates may only utilize hand-made posters for the purpose of canvassing, provided that such handmade posters are procured within the expenditure limit set out herein above.

5.Candidates may only utilize hand-made posters at certain places in the campus, which shall be notified in advance by the election commission / university authority.

6. No candidate shall, nor shall his/her supporters, deface or cause any destruction to any property of the university / college campus, for any purpose whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the college / university authorities. All candidates shall be held jointly and severally liable for any destruction / defacing of any university/college property.

7. The use of loudspeakers, vehicles and animals for the purpose of canvassing shall be prohibited.

8. Any contravention of any of the above recommendations may make the candidate liable to be stripped of his candidature, or his elected post, as the case may be. The election commission / college / university authorities may also take appropriate disciplinary action against such a violator.

Background

The Delhi High Court on November 11 directed the Delhi University to undertake the process of counting of votes for DUSU elections on or before November 26, provided all the sites which were defaced by the contesting candidates are cleaned up and repainted within a week.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that it is the responsibility of the candidates and the current students of DU to ensure that the next batch gets to use the varsity's infrastructure in good and clean condition.

The court was dealing with a plea moved by Advocate Prashant Manchanda in 2017 seeking action against the candidates indulging in the defacement of public properties. The plea also sought the removal of the defacement and refurbishment of the areas. An application was moved by Manchanda against the recent vandalism and defacement amid DUSU polls.

In September, the Court halted the process of counting votes for the elections of Delhi University and other colleges in the wake of candidates indulging in acts of vandalism and defacement of public and private properties. Later, the Court said that it would allow the counting of votes to take place the next day if all the defacement was cleaned up.

The SLP has been drafted by AOR Govind Jee. 

Case Details:  AKHILESH KUMAR MISHRA & ORS v. UNIVERSITY OF DELHI & ORS., Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 27994/2024

Appearances: Senior Advocate Rajiv Shakdher 

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