DUSU polls 2024: HC suggests annulling elections over defacement of public property

NEW DELHI : Upset over the defacement of public property during the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday said the vice chancellor should take strict action, including annulment of the polls, or defer them till all the defacement is removed. A bench of Chief Justice Designate Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said crores of rupees were prima facie being spent by candidates and orally asked the university vice chancellor to step in and take strict action.

People are "behaving like illiterates" in a place of learning, the court said and added the election system is not there to corrupt the youth. The bench suggested that the university should defer the elections, scheduled for September 27, or disqualify the candidates and start nomination afresh or should allow polling but not declare the results till all the defacement is removed. The university counsel, on instructions of the chief election officer of the university who was present in the court, urged that the matter be taken up on Thursday as the authorities plan to take a decision on it by then. The court then listed the matter for further hearing on Thursday and directed the Delhi Police to cooperate with the Delhi University, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Metro to ensure that no further defacement of public property takes place and the defacement already done is removed.

“Look at the amount of defacement done. The vice chancellor should act on this and if it takes annulment of elections, let it be done. Let all the money spent go into drains. Whosoever’s poster is there, send the bill to him,” the bench said. Going through photographs of the defacement of public property, the bench said the situation during the DUSU polls was worse than the general elections. It observed that elections are a festival of democracy and not of laundering money and said, “this amounts to corruption. If the students end up getting corrupt at this stage, there is no end”.

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“People have so much money power in these elections. It is a festival of democracy and not a festival of laundering of money. This is laundering of money, which is going on. These are some crores being spent here. “The election system is not to corrupt the youth. The use of this amount of money in students' union elections is corrupting the students right at the inception. In a place of learning, people are behaving like illiterates. Only an illiterate can behave like this. Delhi University is doing nothing. Take stringent action so that these people get to know that they cannot get away like this. This shows there is no dearth of money. Let the vice chancellor call a meeting today itself,” an annoyed bench said.

DUSU elections 2024

Justice Manmohan observed, “This is done by a literate group or is it an illiterate group doing this? This sort of defacement and all will be done by someone who is illiterate. I think this is the failure of our education system and these activities should be dealt with heavy hands.” “You tell them to first clean it up, it must be repainted, restored and then you allow elections to take place,” the court said. The court was hearing a plea seeking action against the prospective DUSU candidates and student political outfits involved in damaging, defacing, soiling or destroying the beauty of public walls.

Petitioner Prashant Manchanda, a practising advocate, also sought action against those involved in damaging classrooms, thus denying the citizens a clean and beautiful environment and surroundings free from defacement as well as depriving the students of their right to education. He also sought a direction to erring candidates and their parties to remove the defacement and refurbish the areas and further take efforts for beautification of the destroyed portions.

During the hearing, the DU counsel submitted that show cause notices have already been issued to the erring candidates on why they should not be disqualified for defacing public property. He said as per the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, a candidate can spend only Rs 5,000 for the polls. The varsity’s counsel added that they have asked the candidates to remove all the material from public property and have asked them to respond to the disqualification notice today itself. The counsel for the MCD submitted that four truckloads of thousands of posters, banners and other articles used for defacing public property had been removed but so much is still left. He added that the police was not cooperating with them when they go for removing posters and banners.

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The court also told the chief election officer of the DU that he was not helpless and he has all the power to take action against those flouting rules. You can’t allow so much money to be spent on these elections, it said. The court added that defacement material was not being removed properly and if the candidates can put posters and banners, they can also pay for removal of these articles as they have big pockets.

The petitioner also sought directions to the authorities to ensure compliance to guidelines for the prevention of defacement of property during the DUSU elections 2024-25. The court had in 2019 disposed of a PIL by lawyer Prashant Manchanda seeking a complete ban on defacement of public property by the DUSU poll candidates. The court had directed the public authorities to keep a strict vigil on the areas around the colleges and any banner which comes up on the public land illegally should be removed and action must be taken in accordance with law.