SC Declines to Entertain Plea on Campus Election Reforms, Calls It Meritless
Dubbing the plea a publicity interest litigation, the CJI said: “You just want to go out and address others (media). Only for publicity.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking implementation of the 2006 Lyngdoh Committee Report, which lays down the regulatory framework for student union elections in colleges and universities.
Acting on the directive of the apex court, the Centre had formed the committee, headed by former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngoh, whose report, submitted in the year 2006, made recommendations to eliminate "money and muscle power" from campus politics while maintaining academic standards.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to entertain the petition filed by Shiv Kumar Tripathi, observing that it lacked merit. The petitioner’s counsel said the plea sought enforcement of the committee report to ensure fair elections for students' bodies.
Dubbing the plea a publicity interest litigation, the CJI said: “You just want to go out and address others (media). Only for publicity.”
The top court had accepted the committee recommendations, making them mandatory for all universities and colleges. The committee had fixed the age limit of 17 to 22 years for undergraduate students to fight college elections. For postgraduate students, it had fixed the age limit of 24 to 25 years for contesting university polls. Besides, it had suggested other regulatory measures for such polls.
