Delhi High Court Responds to Allegations of Election Manipulation in DUSU Executive Committee
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Synopsis
The Delhi High Court has consented to review a petition alleging manipulation in the DUSU Executive Committee elections. The case raises concerns over the validity of voter lists and nominations just before the elections.
Key Takeaways
- Delhi High Court is examining allegations of election manipulation.
- Petition highlights irregularities in voter list management.
- Controversy surrounds last-minute nominations for key positions.
- Student claims no fair election was conducted by certain departments.
- Authorities have not addressed grievances raised by the petitioner.
New Delhi, Jan 23 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court on Thursday consented to review a petition asserting manipulation in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Executive Committee elections.
Issuing a notice, a Bench headed by Justice Jyoti Singh requested responses from Delhi University, its Chief Election Officer, the Election Officer of the DUSU Executive Committee, and other involved parties regarding a plea submitted by Mustafa Ali, a second-year student in the South Campus’ Department of Finance and Business Economics.
In his filing, Mustafa Ali, an elected Central Councillor from the South Delhi Campus, argued that a “manipulated, illegal and arbitrary” voter list was generated by the Election Officer favoring specific candidates during the DUSU Executive Committee elections.
“It is a matter of record that no elections were held by Respondent No. 3 (Department of Buddhist) for the position of President and Central Councillor, resulting in these seats being unoccupied. The Department has declared its disassociation with DUSU while simultaneously nominating members for the DUSU Central Council, adversely impacting the Executive Council elections,” the petition stated.
The petition challenged the nomination of two students as President and Central Councillor mere hours prior to the elections for the DUSU Executive Committee for the term 2024-2025, asserting that the University of Delhi and the Department of Buddhist aimed to manipulate the election outcomes through their actions.
“On 21/12/2024, the voter list for the DUSU Executive Committee 2024-2025 was published on the University of Delhi website, which included 146 voters (with no members from the Department of Buddhist). The deadline for nominations was 23/12/2024, and the final candidate list was released on 24/12/2024 by the election officer. It is noted that just two days before the election date, a revised voter list for the DUSU Executive Committee Election 2024-2025 was disclosed by the Election Officer, containing 148 votes (including the President and Central Councillor from the Department of Buddhist) late on 26/12/2024,” the plea, filed through advocate Ashu Bidhuri, highlighted.
The petitioner claimed he continuously submitted representations to the authorities before and after the voting date, yet no actions were taken, and the grievances raised remained unaddressed.
According to the petition, following the DUSU elections, the university proceeds to conduct elections for the Executive Committee as dictated by the Delhi University Student Union Constitution.
“All members of the DUSU Central Council (Elected President and Central Councillors from each college/department) are eligible to vote and run for elections for the DUSU Executive Committee elections,” it stated.
