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Synopsis

Amid the defacement of public property, the Delhi High Court on Monday (October 28) asked the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) candidates to submit a short affidavit within two weeks concerning the clean-up drive carried out by the candidates.

The division bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela  directed the candidates to submit an undertaking against the defacement and mutilation of any public property and said,  "In pursuance of the last order, File a short affidavit that they have removed, all posters, hoardings, banners, and graffiti and they should also give an undertaking that in future they should not deface any public property, Accordingly the matter is listed for 11 November." 

The court made such observations in a plea filed by Prashant Manchanda seeking directions against the Union to take appropriate measures against prospective candidates of the DUSU elections and student political groups who may have been involved in defacing public walls and disrupting classrooms. 

Earlier, the court had stalled the counting of votes until the defacement was removed. However, during today's hearing, the court signalled that vote counting could resume once the clean-up drive is completed.

While speaking to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) presidential candidate, Rishabh Chaudhry, Chief Justice Manmohan said, "You are just dirtying the whole city. Your supporters are throwing pamphlets and you are putting posters. There is spray paint all over. See, you should be a role model for others. You are contesting for the highest post that the university has. You should not be doing this. Mercedes Benz, Range Rover Bentleys, everything is there."

Subsequently, Justice Manmohan also reprimanded the National Students' Union of India's (NSUI) Presidential Candidate Ronak Khatri and remarked "Your friends and supporters have done all this, please get the Campus Law Centre repainted. We have seen videos where highways are blocked by your supports, this is not proper, please get the university area cleaned up."

Meanwhile, Advocate Prashant Manchada took the court through the status report submitted by candidates while playing videos of defacement caused by the aforesaid candidates. "They are flaunting the accidents caused, this gentleman Lokesh Chaudhry is beating the professor, my lords. See how the candidates crashed inside Miranda House College and this is just the minuscule fraction of what we have", said Manchanda.

Following these reports, the Chief Justice expressed dissatisfaction over the way the posters were being removed by the Candidates and asked them to clean up further and submit a proper affidavit after that.“Just see when posters are removed, the glue is still there. You have to repaint the university and clean up, and then we will pass the order,” he asserted.

On Chief Justice Manmohan's asking how much time the candidates would take to clean up, the counsels for the candidates reassured the court and said, "All the candidates were jointly doing the cleaning up of campus, he said most of the sites are now clean, and few have been left, they will clean it."

While taking a sympathetic view of the situation, the court noted that the candidates were remorseful of their actions and had already made efforts to clean up the campus. “You are youngsters; we will give you another chance,” the court added.

The court was also told that the Vice Chancellor had personally visited nearly 30 colleges to assist with the removal of campaign posters.

Lastly, Advocate Prashant Manchanda submitted that in order to beautify the property comprehensively there should be cohesive action. "In some cases, candidates have just painted their names, which is making it look even uglier, it has to be restored to its original aesthetic value", he added

Notably on 24 October, the High Court had summoned 16  DUSU Candidates and asked them to appear before the court on October 28.

Advocate Manchanda had informed the court that the following candidates have been impleaded as respondents, namely, Bhaanu Pratap Singh, Lokesh Chaudhary, Ronak Khatri, Yash Nandal, Mr Rishabh Chaudhary, Rahul Singh Dedha, Aman Kapadia, Deepika Jha, Aman Kapasia, Shivam Maurya, Himanshu Nagar, Aaryan Maan, Rishi Raj Singh, Yash Panwar, Rahul Jhansla and Priyanshu Chaudhary.

On the other hand, Advocate Mohinder J.S. Rupa for Delhi University had submitted its status report and informed the court that 90 per cent of the colleges are free from any defacement now.

Last week, the Court had issued notice to major candidates of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) Elections in a plea filed concerning the defacement of public property during the election campaigning. The bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, in the previous order, had halted the counting and release of election results until the defacement was cleaned and repainted. 

In court, a video was presented by the petitioner’s advocate, illustrating the extent of defacement during the election period. The court observed that expensive luxury vehicles had been used and questioned the Delhi Police regarding the unregistered cars involved, instructing them to take appropriate action. "Where is Delhi Police in all this? Why is your status report saying pending, what is to investigate? Every detail is already there, including name of candidate and of printers", the court remarked. 

The petitioner highlighted the flagrant disregard for the law, citing an incident where students forced their way into Miranda House College’s girls' hostel.

The court expressed dismay, noting that such conduct did not occur even during municipal elections and questioned how it could happen during college elections. It blamed Delhi University for failing to establish a monitoring system and instructed that the matter be brought to the attention of the Vice-Chancellor.

"Even in municipal elections, this does not happen. How can this happen in college elections?", the court remarked.

The court had observed a lack of remorse among the candidates, as there was no indication of their actions in the status report. It declared that unless the entire area was thoroughly cleaned, the vote counting would not be ordered, as the expenses could be wasted. Furthermore, the court stated that if the candidates could arrange convoys of 20 luxury cars, they should also be able to provide funds for the cleanup.

Background: 

The court had previously criticized the University for its failure to enforce strict measures against candidates responsible for defacing public property. It expressed the view that the University “lacked moral authority and courage” to implement effective actions against such misconduct.

The court, in a connected matter, had also permitted two students to participate in the DUSU elections, despite being denied the opportunity by their respective colleges. 

Case Title: Prashant Manchanda v Union (W.P.(C) 7824/2017)