DU says ₹1 lakh bond rule to stay despite objections

The university had issued the guidelines to prevent defacement this year, avoiding repetition of last year’s events when the DUSU elections witnessed widespread defacement of the campus and public property.

Days after the Delhi University issued fresh guidelines stating candidates should submit a ₹1 lakh bond to cover defacement during Delhi University Students’ Union campaign, a senior DU official said on Monday that they can’t withdraw the clause now.

Last year, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had submitted before the court that an expense of ₹1 crore was incurred for cleaning of the defacement during the DUSU elections.

Students had later raised objections to the clause, to which officials had said they will reconsider.

“We had a discussion on the same and the university explored several options. However, it will be very difficult for the university to do away with the clause of the bond as it was passed as an Executive Council (EC) resolution and was submitted to the Delhi High Court,” Raj Kishore Sharma, the Chief Election Officer, DU, said.

The university had issued the guidelines to prevent defacement this year, avoiding repetition of last year’s events when the DUSU elections witnessed widespread defacement of the campus and public property. The counting of votes and declaration of result were delayed by almost two months after Delhi High Court had taken note of the defacements and ordered clearing all of them.

“In fact, a major reason for the court to have finally allowed the release of the results last year was the assurance that these guidelines would be implemented this year,” Sharma added.

As per the guidelines issued on August 8, “Each contesting candidate shall be required to execute a bond of ₹100,000 for the offence of any defacement or violation of provisions of these guidelines by themselves or their supporters, at the time of filing nomination for any post of DUSU.”

Sharma clarified on Monday, “We are sensitive to the problem that aspiring DUSU candidates face. However, the university does not want the student to pay any amount. Any guardian, relative or even friend of the candidate can step in and simply provide a bank guarantee that they have the amount and in case of any defacement, will be able to pay.”

Last year, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had submitted before the court that an expense of ₹1 crore was incurred for cleaning of the defacement during the DUSU elections. The court had thereafter asked DU to compensate for the cost incurred by civic agencies like MCD and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and had further directed the university to recover the amount from the contesting candidates if they want.

The university had allegedly said they would not be able to pay the compensation and can neither ask the students to pay.

The DUSU elections for this year will be held on September 18 and counting will be done on September 19, according to a schedule released by the university.