The Delhi High Court on Monday permitted Delhi University (DU) to start the process of counting the votes polled during the student union elections in September, subject to the university’s satisfaction regarding the restoration of public property defaced during campaigning.
The student outfits welcomed the development and said DU must immediately fix a date to count the votes and announce the results.
The court had on September 26, a day before the polling, criticised the blatant use of “money and muscle power” and asked the university not to declare the results until candidates restore the defaced public property and pay the expenses incurred on it.
A Bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that while the candidates had cleaned up most colleges in the North and South Campuses, photographs showed that campaign material, such as posters and graffiti, had still not been removed from a few properties close to some DU colleges.
The counsel appearing for the candidates assured the court that all such material would be removed within a week.
The court then asked the university to “undertake the counting process on or before November 26 if it is satisfied that the [remaining] sites are cleaned and repainted within a week”.
DU Registrar Vikas Gupta said the university will follow the court orders and that most of the restoration work has been completed.
‘A second chance’
“Since the candidates for DUSU elections are young, this court is of the view that they deserve a second chance,” it added.
The court had orally observed during the proceedings that DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh should take act against students who defaced properties with campaign material.
Ashutosh Singh, the national media convener of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, said, “We welcome the verdict as voters and candidates are awaiting the results. The absence of a union has impacted the students.”
He added that students’ voices are not reaching the administration and that hostel allotment has been pushed to November due to the absence of a union.
Ravi Pandey, the media head of the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India, said, “It is crucial that the administration announces the date of the counting process without further delay. Students have shown immense participation. It is important that the process be transparent and held with utmost integrity.”
Published - November 12, 2024 12:57 am IST
