The Delhi High Court has barred victory processions linked to Delhi University student elections and issued notices to all 140 candidates after violence, alleged intimidation, traffic violations and attacks on professors during the campaign and election period.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia questioned Delhi University and the police over the alleged use of vehicle convoys without number plates in North Campus. The court said images showed candidates standing on car roofs and bonnets, and asked how such activity was allowed despite substantial police deployment.
The court said the convoys could create fear, terror and a sense of dominance in the area. It questioned the Deputy Commissioner of Police on the preventive measures taken to stop them. The police told the bench that vehicle checking was being carried out continuously.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma informed the bench that the Delhi Police had filed a status report on the action taken so far. According to the submission, six first information reports had been registered and four people arrested. The authorities also issued 998 challans in cases involving people shown in video footage, while 5,737 traffic challans were issued for violations including defective and unlicensed vehicles. Vehicle registration certificates are also to be seized where applicable.
The bench separately asked about an alleged attack on professors during the election-related activities. The ASG said students had attacked a professor. The judges asked whether the arrested person was a student and whether the university authorities had been informed about the action. Delhi University said show-cause notices had been issued to students.
The court also questioned the university’s response to repeated incidents. It said similar events had occurred year after year without meaningful change and criticised the alleged assault of a professor by a student after a victory. The university’s lawyer apologised and said the candidates would be examined. The bench responded by questioning what such an examination would establish after the incidents had already taken place.
All 140 candidates contesting the student elections were issued notices asking why damages should not be imposed on them. The court said it was considering collective election-related damages and also issued notices to student organisations. Lawyers appeared for the ABVP and NSUI, while counsel appearing for the ASAP student organisation denied allegations of hooliganism. The bench asked that photographs showing an ASAP candidate standing on a vehicle be produced before it.
The court directed Delhi University and other responsible authorities to take every possible step to prevent violations of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and earlier court orders governing student elections. It also directed the Delhi Police and university officials to take preventive action. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and other departments were told to ensure that public property was not damaged and to act immediately if violations were found.
The court’s directions place responsibility on the university, police and civic authorities beyond post-incident arrests and challans. The next stage will depend on the responses to the notices, the status reports placed before the bench and the action taken against candidates, students and organisations found to have violated election rules.
