Kerala HC sets aside election of Sree Kerala Varma College union chairman

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday set aside the election conducted for the post of chairman of the students' union at a government-aided college in Thrissur, where a nominee of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) was declared elected after a recount.

Justice T R Ravi directed the Sree Kerala Varma College authorities to carry out a fresh recount of the votes, in accordance with procedure. The court gave the order in a plea filed by the Kerala Students' Union, the student wing of the Congress in Kerala, which sought a re-election to the post of chairman of the college union, alleging sabotage by SFI, the student organisation of the ruling CPI(M) in the state.

In its order, the court said that the initial counting and the recounting of votes had not been carried out in accordance with prescribed procedure. However, it rejected KSU's prayer for a re-election. "The entire voting is over, and the dispute is only regarding the counting. In the above circumstances, what is required is a fresh counting of the votes polled for the election to the post of Chairman of the College Union, scrupulously following the method prescribed in the bye-laws issued by the university. The prayer for a re-election is rejected," the high court said.

The court had earlier refused to stay the results of the students' union election in which the SFI nominee was declared chairman after votes were recounted at midnight. The Sree Kerala Varma College witnessed dramatic scenes on November 1 as the KSU alleged that after its candidate had won the chairman election by one seat, the Left students' organisation meddled with a recount of votes to ensure the victory of its contestant.

Stung by the initial result in which KSU won, the SFI activists had demanded a recount of votes, which the management eventually agreed to. Though a recount of votes was held in the evening, it was stopped midway following a protest by KSU activists. They alleged that the returning officer was a leader of a pro-Left union. When the result of the recount was announced at midnight, SFI's chairman candidate Anirudhan was declared the winner by a margin of 11 votes.

The plea filed by the KSU in the high court had also sought a thorough investigation into the "malpractice, tampering, and sabotaging" of the election process. The plea alleged that the recounting of the election results was conducted even after multiple objections from the principal, the college management, and the student wing of the Congress.