Clean campus to proceed with vote counting, HC tells DUSU candidates

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) candidates to clean the campus structures defaced during the election campaign, stating that vote counting will only take place once the premises are restored.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, emphasised, “Why don’t you clean up the mess? The day the place is cleaned up, we will allow the counting of votes the very next day.”

This follows the court’s earlier decision on September 26 to halt the vote counting and declaration of results for the DUSU and college elections due to widespread defacement across the campus. “Our purpose is to send a message that such violations will not be tolerated, not to thwart the election process,” said the Bench.

Two DUSU candidates, who had filed an application seeking the declaration of results, assured the court that they would coordinate with students to clean and repaint the defaced college premises.

The court was hearing the application within a broader petition, filed by advocate Prashant Manchanda, which seeks action against candidates and student outfits responsible for damaging public property.

Manchanda said, “The Chief Justice made it clear that it’s the responsibility of contesting candidates to ensure the defaced properties are cleaned. The day this is done, the election results will be declared.”

The High Court granted time to the candidates, the petitioner, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to file status reports on the defacement cleanup. The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 21.