LYNGDOH committe report on Students Union election.

The recommendation of the Committee accepted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court for
implementation:
6.1.1 Universities and colleges across the country must ordinarily conduct
elections for the appointment of students to student representative
bodies. These elections may be conducted in the manner prescribed
herein, or in a manner that conforms to the standards prescribed
herein.
6.1.2 Where the atmosphere of the university campus is adverse to the
conduct of peaceful, free and fair elections, the university, its
constituent colleges and departments must initiate a system of student
representation based on nominations, especially where elections are
being held at present. It would be advisable, however, not to base such
nomination system on purely academic merit, as is being practiced
throughout the country.
6.1.3 In cases where elections are not being held, or where the nomination
model prevails, the nomination model should be allowed to continue
for a limited period of time. It is to be noted that the nomination
system suffers from several flaws, and must only be resorted to as an
INTERIM MEASURE.
6.1.4 Subject to the recommendations in respect of the possible models of
elections, all institutions must, over a period of 5 years, convert from
the nomination model to a structured election model, that may be
based on a system of parliamentary (indirect) elections, or on the
presidential (direct) system, or a hybrid of both. It is highly desirable
that all institutions follow this mechanism of gradual conversion,
especially for privately funded institutions that prefer a status quo
situation.
6.1.5 All institutions must conduct a review of the student representation
mechanism. The first review may be conducted after a period of 2
years of the implementation of the mechanism detailed above, and the
second review may be conducted after the 3rd or the 4th year of
implementation. The primary objective of these reviews will be to
ascertain the success of the representation and election mechanism in
each individual institution, so as to decide whether or not to
implement a full-fledged election structure. Needless to say these
reviews will be based on a consideration of the views and suggestions
of all stakeholders, such as students, faculty, administration, student
bodies, and parents.
6.1.6 Institutions must, as a primary objective, subject to the pertinent issue
of discipline on campus, seek to implement a structured system of
student elections by the conclusion of a period of 5 years from the date
of the implementation of these recommendations.
6.1.7 Subject to the autonomy of the universities in respect of the choice of
the mode of election, all universities must institute an apex student
representative body that represents all students, colleges, and
departments coming under the particular university. In the event that
the university is geographically widespread, individual colleges may
constitute their own representative bodies, which would further elect
representatives for the apex university body.
6.1.8 The union/representative body so elected shall only comprise of
regular students on the rolls of the institution. No faculty member,
nor any member of the administration shall be permitted to hold any
post on the executive of such representative body, nor shall be allowed
to be a member of any such representative body.
6.2 Modes of Elections
6.2.1 A system of direct election of the office bearers of the student body
whereby all students of all constituent colleges, as well as all students
of the university departments vote directly for the office bearers. This
model may be followed in smaller universities with well-defined single
campuses (for e.g. JNU/University of Hyderabad), and with a
relatively smaller student population. A graphic representation of this
model is annexed herewith at Annexure IV-A.
In respect of universities with large, widespread campuses and large
student bodies, either of the following models may be adopted:
6.2.2 A system of elections, where colleges and campuses directly elect
college and campus office bearers, as well as university
representatives. The university representatives form an electoral
college, which shall elect the university student union office bearers. A
graphic representation of this model is annexed herewith at Annexure
IV-B.
6.2.3 A system of elections where on one hand, directly elected class
representatives elect the office bearers of the college as well as the
university representatives, and the campus itself directly elects the
campus office bearers and the university representatives. The
university representatives shall form an electoral college, which shall
elect the office bearer of the university student union. A graphic
representation of this model is annexed herewith at Annexure IV-C.
6.2.4 A system of election wherein class representatives shall be directly
elected in the colleges and universities campus and they in turn shall
elect the office bearers for the college unions and the university
campus union. Also they shall elect their representatives for university
student union. These elected representatives from colleges and
university campus shall form the Electoral College, which shall elect
the office bearers of the university student union. This model shall be
applicable to large university with large number of affiliated colleges.
A graphic representation of this model is annexed herewith at
Annexure IV-D.
6.3 Disassociation of Student Elections and Student Representation from
Political Parties
6.3.1 During the period of the elections no person, who is not a student on
the rolls of the college/university, shall be permitted to take part in the
election process in any capacity. Any person, candidate, or member of
the student organisation, violating this rule shall be subject to
disciplinary proceedings, in addition to the candidature, as the case
may be, being revoked.
6.4 Frequency and Duration of the Election Process
6.4.1 It is recommended that the entire process of elections, commencing
from the date of filing of nomination papers to the date of declaration
of results, including the campaign period, should not exceed 10 days.
6.4.2 It is further recommended that elections be held on a yearly
basis and that the same should be held between 6 to 8 weeks from the
date of commencement of the academic session.
6.5 Eligibility Criteria for Candidates
6.5.1 Under graduate students between the ages of 17 and 22 may contest
elections. This age range may be appropriately relaxed in the case of
professional colleges, where courses often range between 4 to 5 years.
6.5.2 For Post Graduate Students the maximum age limit to legitimately
contest and election would be 24 – 25 years.
6.5.3 For research Students the maximum age limit to legitimately contest
an election would be 28 years.
6.5.4 Although, the Committee would refrain from prescribing any
particular minimum marks to be attained by the candidate, the
candidate should in no event have any academic arrears in the year of
contesting the election.
6.5.5 The candidate should have attained the minimum percentage of
attendance as prescribed by the university or 75% attendance,
whichever is higher.
6.5.6 The candidate shall have one opportunity to contest for the post of
office bearer, and two opportunities to contest for the post of an
executive member.
6.5.7 The candidate shall not have a previous criminal record, that is to say
he should not have been tried and/or convicted of any criminal offence
or misdemeanor. The candidate shall also not have been subject to
any disciplinary action by the University authorities.
6.5.8 The candidate must be a regular, full time student of the college /
university and should not be a distance/proximate education student.
That is to say that all eligible candidates must be enrolled in a full
time course, the course duration being at least one year.
6.6 Election - Related Expenditure and Financial Accountability
6.6.1 The maximum permitted expenditure per candidate shall be Rs.
5000/-
6.6.2 Each candidate shall, within two weeks of the declaration of the
result, submit complete and audited accounts to the college /
university authorities. The college/university shall publish such
audited accounts, within 2 days of the submission of such accounts,
through a suitable medium so that any member of the student body
may freely examine the same.
6.6.3 The election of the candidate will be nullified in the event of any
noncompliance or in the event of any excessive expenditure.
6.6.4 With the view to prevent the inflow of funds from political parties into
the student election process, the candidates are specially barred from
utilizing funds from any other sources than voluntary contributions
from the student body.
6.7 Code of Conduct for Candidates and Elections Administrators
6.7.1 No candidate shall indulge in, nor shall abet, any activity, which may
aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause
tension between different castes and communities, religious or
linguistic, or between any group(s) of students.
6.7.2 Criticism of other candidates, when made, shall be confined to their
policies and programs, past record and work. Candidates shall refrain
from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the
public activities of the other candidates or supporters of such other
candidates. Criticism of other candidates, or their supporters based
on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.
6.7.3 There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing
votes. Places of worship, within or without the campus shall not be
used for election propaganda.
6.7.4 All candidates shall be prohibited from indulging or abetting, all
activities which are considered to be “corrupt practices” and offences,
such as bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of
voters, canvassing or the use of propaganda within 100 meters of
polling stations, holding public meetings during the period of 24 hours
ending with the hour fixed for the close of the poll, and the transport
and conveyance of voters to and from polling station.
6.7.5 No candidate shall be permitted to make use of printed posters,
printed pamphlets, or any other printed material for the purpose of
canvassing. Candidates may only utilize hand-made posters for the
purpose of canvassing, provided that such hand-made posters are
procured within the expenditure limit set out herein above.
6.7.6 Candidates may only utilize hand-made posters at certain places in
the campus, which shall be notified in advance by the election
commission / university authority.
6.7.7 No candidate shall be permitted to carry out processions, or public
meetings, or in any way canvass or distribute propaganda outside the
university/college campus.
6.7.8 No candidate shall, nor shall his/her supporters, deface or cause any
destruction to any property of the university / college campus, for any
purpose whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the
college / university authorities. All candidates shall be held jointly and
severally liable for any destruction / defacing of any university /
college property.
6.7.9 During the election period the candidates may hold processions and /
or public meetings, provided that such processions and / or public
meetings do not, in any manner, disturb the classes and other
academic and co curricular activities of the college / university.
Further, such procession / public meeting may not be held without the
prior written permission of the college / university authority.
6.7.10 The use of loudspeakers, vehicles and animals for the purpose of
canvassing shall be prohibited.
6.7.11 On the day of polling, student organizations and candidates shall -:
(i) co-operate with the officers on election duty to ensure peaceful
and orderly polling and complete freedom to the voters to
exercise their franchise without being subjected to any
annoyance or obstruction;
(ii) not serve or distribute any eatables, or other solid and liquid
consumables, except water on polling day;
(iii) not hand out any propaganda on the polling day.
6.7.12 Excepting the voters, no one without a valid pass / letter of authority
from the election commission or from the college / university
authorities shall enter the polling booths.
6.7.13 The election commission / college/ university authorities shall appoint
impartial observers. In the case of deemed universities and selffinanced
institutions, government servants may be appointed as
observers. If the candidates have any specific complaint or problem
regarding the conduct of the elections they may bring the same to the
notice of the observer. Observers shall also be appointed to oversee
the process of nomination of students in institutions that are following
the nomination model of student representation.
6.7.14 All candidates shall be jointly responsible for ensuring the cleaning up
of the polling area within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling.
6.7.15 Any contravention of any of the above recommendations may make
the candidate liable to be stripped of his candidature, or his elected
post, as the case may be. The election commission / college / university
authorities may also take appropriate disciplinary action against such
a violator.
6.7.16 In addition to the above-mentioned code of conduct, it is also
recommended that certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
(Section 153A and Chapter IXA – “Offences Relating to Election”),
may also be made applicable to student elections.
6.8 Grievance Redressal Mechanism
6.8.1 There should be a Grievances Redressal Cell with the Dean (Student
Welfare) / teacher in charge of student affairs as its chairman. In
addition, one senior faculty member, one senior administrative officer
and two final year students – one boy and one girl (till the election
results declared, students can be nominated on the basis of merit
and/or participation in the co-curricular activities in the previous
year). The grievance cell shall be mandated with the redressal of
election-related grievances, including, but not limited to breaches of
the code of conduct of elections and complaints relating to electionrelated
expenditure. This cell would be the regular unit of the
institution.
6.8.2 In pursuit of its duties, the grievance cell may prosecute violators of
any aspect of the code of conduct or the rulings of the grievance cell.
The grievance cell shall serve as the court of original jurisdiction. The
institutional head shall have appellate jurisdiction over issues of law
and fact in all cases or controversies arising out of the conduct of the
elections in which the grievance cell has issued a final decision. Upon
review, the institutional head may revoke or modify the sanctions
imposed by the grievance cell
6.8.3 In carrying out the duties of the office, the Grievance cell shall
conduct proceedings and hearings necessary to fulfill those duties. In
executing those duties they shall have the authority:
(i) to issue a writ of subpoena to compel candidates, agents, and
workers, and to request students to appear and give testimony,
as well as produce necessary records; and
(ii) to inspect the financial reports of any candidate and make
these records available for public scrutiny upon request.
6.8.4 Members of the Grievance cell are prohibited from filing complaints.
Any other student may file a complaint with the Grievance cell, within
a period of 3 weeks from the date of declaration of results. All
complaints must be filed under the name of the student filing the
complaint. The Grievance cell shall act on all complaints within 24
hours after they are received by either dismissing them or calling a
hearing.
6.8.5 The Grievance cell may dismiss a complaint if:
(i) the complaint was not filed within the time frame prescribed in
Recommendation 8.4 above;
(ii) the complaint fails to state a cause of action for which relief
may be granted;
(iii) the complainant has not and / or likely will not suffer injury or
damage.
6.8.6 If a complaint is not dismissed, then a hearing must be held. The
Grievance cell shall inform, in writing, or via e-mail, the complaining
party and all individuals or groups named in the complaint of the
time and place of the hearing. The parties are not considered notified
until they have received a copy of the complaint.
6.8.7 The hearing shall be held at the earliest possible time, but not within
twenty-four (24) hours after receipt of the notice described above,
unless all parties agree to waive the 24-hour time constraint.
6.8.8 At the time notice of a hearing is issued, the Grievance cell, by
majority vote, may issue a temporary restraining order, if it
determines that such action is necessary to prevent undue or adverse
effects on any individual or entity. Any restraining order, once issued,
will remain in effect until a decision of the Grievance cell is
announced after the hearing or until rescinded by the Grievance cell.
6.8.9 All Grievance cell hearings, proceedings, and meetings must be open
to the public.
6.8.10 All Parties of the Grievance cell hearing shall present themselves at
the hearing, may be accompanied by any other student from which
they can receive counsel, and have the option to be represented by
that counsel.
6.8.11 For any hearing, a majority of sitting Grievance cell members must be
in attendance with the Chair of the Grievance cell presiding. In the
absence of the Chair, the responsibility to preside shall fall to an
Grievance cell member designated by the Chair.
6.8.12 The Grievance cell shall determine the format for the hearing, but
must require that both the complaining and responding parties
appear physically before the board to discuss the issues through a
complaint, answered, rebuttal, and rejoinder format. The purpose of
the hearing is to gather the information necessary to make a decision,
order, or ruling that will resolve an election dispute. To effectuate this
purpose, the following rules should prevail at all hearings:
• Complaining parties shall be allowed no more than two witnesses,
however the Grievance cell may call witnesses as required. If said
witnesses are unable to appear at the hearing, signed affidavits
may be submitted the the Grievance cell Chair for the purpose of
testifying by proxy.
• All questions and discussions by the parties in dispute shall be
directed to the Grievance cell.
• There shall be no direct or cross-examination of any party or
witness by complaining or responding parties during hearings.
• Reasonable time limits may be set by the Grievance cell, provided
they give fair and equal treatment to both sides.
• The complaining party shall bear the burden of proof.
• Decisions, orders, and rulings of the Grievance cell must be
concurred to by a majority of the Grievance cell present and shall
be announced as soon as possible after the hearing. The Grievance
cell shall issue a written opinion of the ruling within 12 hours of
announcement of the decision. The written opinion must set forth
the findings of fact by the Grievance cell and the conclusions of
law in support of it. Written opinions shall set a precedent for a
time period of three election cycles for Grievance cell rulings, and
shall guide the Grievance cell in its proceedings. Upon
consideration of prior written opinions, the grievance cell may
negate the decision, but must provide written documentation of
reasons for doing so.
• If the decision of the Grievance cell is appealed to the institutional
head , the Grievance cell must immediately submit its ruling to the
commission.
• The Grievance cell shall select the remedy or sanction most
appropriate to both the type and severity of the infraction, as well
as the state of mind or intent of the violator as determined by the
Grievance cell. Possible remedies and sanctions include, but are
not limited to, fines, suspension of campaigning privileges, and
disqualification from the election.
• Any fine or total amount of fines against a candidate in an election
cycle may not exceed the spending limit as defined herein above.
• If, after a hearing, the Grievance cell finds that provisions of this
Code were violated by a candidate, or a candidate's agents or
workers, the Grievance cell may restrict the candidate, or the
candidates agents or workers, from engaging in some or all
campaign activities for some or all of the remainder of the
campaign. If an order is issued covering only part of the remaining
campaign period, it shall take effect immediately so that after its
termination, the candidate will have an opportunity to resume
campaigning during the days immediately prior to and including
the election days.
• If, after a hearing, the Grievance cell finds that provisions of
either this Code or decisions, opinions, orders, or rulings of the
Grievance cell have been willfully and blatantly violated by a
candidate, or a candidate's agents or workers, the Grievance cell
may disqualify the candidate.
• Any party adversely affected by a decision of the Grievance cell
may file an appeal with the institutional head within twenty-four
(24) hours after the adverse decision is announced. The
institutional head shall have discretionary appellate jurisdiction
over the Grievance cell in all cases in which error on the part of
the Grievance cell is charged.
• The decision of the Grievance cell shall stand and shall have full
effect until the appeal is heard and decided by the institutional
head.
• The institutional head shall hear appeals of Grievance cell rulings
as soon as possible, but not within twenty-four (24) hours after the
Grievance cell delivers to the Appellant and the institutional head
a copy of its written opinion in the case. Appeal may be heard
prior to this time, but only if the Appellant waives the right to a
written opinion and the institutional head agrees to accept the
waiver.
• The institutional head can issue suitable orders to suspend or halt
the operation of the ruling issued by the Grievance cell until the
appeals are decided.
• The institutional head shall review findings of the Grievance cell
when appealed. The institutional head may affirm or overturn the
decision of the Grievance cell, or modify the sanctions imposed.
6.9 Maintaining Law and Order on the Campus during the Election
Process
6.9.1 Any instance of acute lawlessness or the commission of a criminal
offence shall be reported to the police by the university / college
authorities as soon as possible, but not later than 12 hours after the
alleged commission of the offence.
6.10 Miscellaneous Recommendations
6.10.1 Student representation is essential to the overall development of
students, and, therefore, it is recommended that university statutes
should expressly provide for student representation.
6.10.2 Student representation should be regulated by statute (either a
Central Statue, State Statute or individual university statutes),
incorporating the recommendations prescribed herein.
6.10.3 The institution should organize leadership-training programs with the
help of professional organizations so as to groom and instill in
students leadership qualities.
6.10.4 In the event of the office of any major post of office bearer falling
vacant within two months of elections, re-elections should be
conducted; otherwise the Vice President may be promoted to the post
of President and Joint Secretary to the post of Secretary, as the case
may be.