Delhi HC Appoints Ex-SC Judge as Observer for JNUSU Elections

The Delhi High Court has appointed former Supreme Court judge V Ramasubramanian as an ‘observer’ to oversee the activities of the election committee established for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) elections for the 2023-24 academic year.

Responding to a petition filed by a student, Justice Sachin Datta also instructed the grievance redressal cell, established according to the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, to review and adjudicate on grievances regarding the constitution of the election committee before the final result announcement.

“If it is determined that the composition of the EC (election committee) does not comply with the law and/or the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations (as endorsed by the Supreme Court), appropriate consequential orders concerning the challenged elections will be issued by the grievance redressal cell,” Justice Datta stated in an order issued on Friday.

“The respective counsels for the parties also concur that in the interim, a retired Supreme Court judge should be appointed by this court as the observer to oversee the activities/functions to be performed by the election committee for the ongoing election process. For this purpose, Mr. Justice V Ramasubramanian, former judge of the Supreme Court of India, is appointed as the observer,” the court announced.

The JNUSU elections are slated to take place on March 22 with results expected on March 24.

The petitioner alleged that the procedure for appointing the members of the election committee violated the rules.

It was argued that the two students responsible for constituting the committee colluded to form it with a clear bias toward candidates aligned with their ideological and political beliefs.

The court deemed it appropriate for the petitioner’s complaints and grievances to be initially examined by the grievance redressal cell, specifically constituted for the JNUSU elections. The court also granted the petitioner the liberty to approach it.

“In light of the election schedule reportedly notified on 10.03.2024, the grievance redressal cell is instructed to complete the aforementioned process and issue a reasoned order prior to announcing the final results,” the court ordered.

Petitioner Sakshi, a Bachelor of Arts student, raised several grievances regarding the scheduled elections, including the authorization given to two students — Aishe Ghosh and Md Danish — to conduct the General Body Meeting (GBM) and the formation of the election committee.

The petition sought a directive to conduct fresh GBMs strictly in accordance with the terms outlined in the Lyngdoh Committee Report to uphold the integrity and trust in the JNUSU elections.

In 2005, the Supreme Court mandated the establishment of a committee led by J M Lyngdoh, former chief election commissioner of India, to ensure fairness and transparency in conducting elections for students’ unions in various universities across the country. The committee issued various recommendations in this regard.

The apex court adopted the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, making them obligatory for universities.