HC says DU campuses still 'shabby', asks poll candidates to remove posters, paint defaced walls

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has said campuses at the Delhi University were yet to recover from student unions' "election excesses" and looked "shabby" as posters and graffiti hadn't been removed as it directed the candidates to clean up the place and repaint the defaced walls. A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela impleaded 16 students, who had contested the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) 2024-25 elections held on September 27, as parties to the proceedings while directing them to appear before it on October 28 and explain their conduct.

The high court said the cleaning work should be done by the student candidates in collaboration with the university or colleges. On the prayer of the petitioner, the court impleaded as respondents -- Bhaanu Pratap Singh, Ronak Khatri, Yash Panwar, Rishabh Chaudhary, Lokesh Chaudhary, Yash Nandal, Rahul Singh Dedha, Aman Kapasia, Deepika Jha, Aman Kapasia, Shivam Maurya, Himanshu Nagar, Aaryan Maan, Rishi Raj Singh, Rahul Jhansla and Priyanshu Chaudhary.

The petitioner had alleged that major defacement was carried out by these candidates. The court, therefore, directed them to remove all the posters, and graffiti and repaint the defaced walls in collaboration with the Delhi University and colleges. It also asked the DU to inform the newly-impleaded respondents through WhatsApp and e-mail to appear in court on October 28. The court, which had halted the counting of votes of DUSU polls till all the defacement material was cleaned up and public property was restored, reiterated the warning.

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Shabby condition of campuses

Two candidates, who contested the college elections in two separate DU colleges, urged the court to allow the counting of votes and declaration of results saying they had taken the initiative of cleaning up the area and motivated other students too. The court, which appreciated the efforts put in by the two candidates, said the photographs and videos show the campuses were still in a shabby condition. "... both the north and south campuses are yet to recover from the 'election excesses' and they continue to look shabby as a large number of posters/hoardings/banners/graffiti are yet to be removed and boundary walls of a number of colleges are still to be repainted," the bench noted.

The court directed the Delhi Police, MCD and DU to file fresh status reports and posted the hearing on October 28. While the polling took place on September 27, the HC had halted the vote counting -- scheduled for September 28. The court was hearing a petition by advocate Prashant Manchanda, who sought action against the prospective DUSU candidates and student outfits involved in allegedly damaging, defacing, soiling and destroying public walls.