Red Syndicate violates Supreme court ruling

College Election violates Supreme Court Ruling – ABVP

Even as the ruling of the Supreme Court of India stands, prescribing some clear conditions to conduct the campus Union elections in the Universities and Colleges, the University of Kerala as well as some of its affiliated Colleges have turned arrogant enough to violate the ruling of the Apex Court. The court order, if followed to the letter, would certainly have brought about a change for the better in Kerala’s university and collegiate education field. But that the ruling is not followed in all its sense, it appears, would not effect any desirable change. In many colleges the election procedure is diluted to ensure that the nefarious elements and undesirable candidates are elected.

 As well known the Hon Court has insisted some desirable criteria for the candidates. “They should not be over aged, shall not have any criminal record, must not have undergone any disciplinary action of the University, should have 75% of attendance in the classrooms and should not have any “academic arrears in the year of contesting the election”. (Judgment and Order dated 24/06/2004 in WP No. 30845/2003 of Kerala  High court order)

This by all means ensures that only a chartered group of students must represent the student community in the College and University Unions which would run in contrast to the earlier practice of electing those ever failing ones in examinations and who were only occasional visitors to the classrooms, a group who were the curse to the educational field itself. A ruling with far reaching effects, this would clean up the campus politics and thereby the national politics too, a desirable ruling for the democratic and cultural progress of the academic sector in particular and the nation as a whole in general.

But that in many contexts this is not followed to the letter and spirit has become a bane, says A Jayasankar of ABVP. According to him the College authorities’ mode of conducting the election has fallen wide off the mark. Quoting the S D College (Alappuzha) election scenario, he complained that the Committee for the final scrutiny of nomination has accepted the nominations of those who have failed in their first year examination. This is under the convenient excuse that they have appeared for improvement. But he says that their present status is ‘failed’, and accepting the nominations of such failed students is certainly a crass violation of the court order pertaining to the clause of ‘academic arrears in the year of contesting the election’.

This allegation is a clear case of manipulation helping the SFI candidates to be in the fray.  Queried on why a complaint is not forwarded to the college authorities, he said there is no forum to look into the grievances since the college has not constituted the ‘Grievances Redressal Cell’ though it is ruled by the Supreme Court to constitute it consisting the Dean/teacher in charge of students affairs, one senior faculty member, one senior administrative officer and two final year students. (6.8, ibid.) Also he said the election has become a show of money power with the student’s organizations spending thousands for electioneering through posters, printed notices and other publicity materials. Printed posters bristle in the college campus though it is specified that “candidates may only utilize hand made posters” for the purpose of canvassing vote.

 Rallies, with unparliamentary slogans hurled at the opposite candidates renting the air and the election campaign conducted outside the campus as seen from the posters outside the college have become common though they are strictly prohibited by the Supreme Court. Notwithstanding the order that the rallies and meetings shall be conducted only with the written permission of the College or University authorities massive rallies are conducted in the campus making the authorities mere spectators. This style of election is something any right thinking student can’t digest, and the ABVP is planning to move a plaint in the High Court in this regard, he said.