(a) whether the Government has received the Lyngdoh
Committee Report on student union elections;
(b) if so, the main recommendations made in the report;
(c) whether the Government proposes to implement the
recommendations made in the said report; and
(d) if so, the details in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SMT. D. PURANDESWARI)
(a) to (d) The Report of the J.M.Lyngdoh Committee has been
submitted to Supreme Court of India and main recommendations
are at Annexure. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has
been directed to ensure compliance of Supreme Court’s
directions on the Committee’s recommendations by
Universities and other Institutions and also to give the
widest publicity.
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1932 FOR
5.12.2006 ASKED BY DR. LAXMINARAYAN PANDEY AND PROF. VIJAY
KUMAR MALHOTRA, MPs REGARDING REPORT ON STUDENT UNION
ELECTIONS
The recommendations of the Committee accepted by the
Hon’ble Supreme Court for implementation are as under:
1. Conduct of Elections
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.
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.
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 restored to as an INTERIM MEASURE.
1.4 Subject to the recommendations in respect of the
possible model 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.
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.
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 conclusion of a period of 5 years
from the date of the implementation of the
recommendations.
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 universities body.
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.
2 Modes of Elections
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 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.
In respect of universities with large,
widespread campuses and large student bodies
either of the following models may be adopted.
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.
2.3 A system of elections where on one hand, directly
elected college and campus office bearers, as
well as university representatives. The university
representative form an electoral college, which shall elect
the university student union office bearers.
2.4 A system of elections where on one hand, directly
elected class representative 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.
2.5 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
representative 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
3 Disassociation of Student Elections and
Student Representation from Political Parties.
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.
4 Frequency and Duration of Election Process
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.
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.
5 Eligibility Criteria for Candidates
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.
5.2. For Post Graduate Students the maximum age limit to
legitimately contest and election would be 24 - 25 years.
5.3 For research Students the maximum age
limit to legitimately contest an election would be 28
years.
5.4 Although, the Committee would refrain
from prescribing any particular minimum marks to
be attained by candidate, the candidate should
in no event have any academic arrears in the year of
contesting the election.
5.5 The candidate should have attained the
minimum percentage of attendance as prescribed by the
university or 75% attendance, whichever is higher.
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.
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.
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 Election - Related Expenditure and
Financial Accountability
6.1 The maximum permitted expenditure per
candidate shall be Rs.5000/-.
6.2 Each candidate shall, within two weeks
of the declaration of the result, submit
complete and certified accounts ( to be certified by the
candidate) to the college/university authorities. The
college/university shall publish such audited accounts
within 2 days of submission of such accounts, through a
suitable medium so that any member of the student body may
freely examine the same.
6.3 The election of the candidate will
be nullified in the event of any non-compliance
or in the event of any excessive expenditure.
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.
7 Code of Conduct for Candidates and
Elections Administrators
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
period written permission of the college/university
authority.
7.10 The use of loudspeakers, vehicles and animals for the
purpose of canvassing shall be prohibited.
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.
7.12 Excepting the voters, no one without
a valid pass/letters of authority from the
election commission or from the college/university
authorities shall enter the polling booths.
7.13 The election commission/college/
university authorities shall appoint impartial observers.
In the case of deemed universities and self-financed
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 nominations model of
student representation.
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.
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.
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 153-A and
Chapter IX-A - `Offences Relating to Election`),
may also be made applicable to student elections.
8 Grievances Redressal Mechanism
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 grievance, including, but not
limited to breaches of the code of conduct
of elections and complaints relating to election-related
expenditure. This cell would be the regular unit of the
institution.
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.
8.3 In carrying out the duties of the office, the
Grievance cell shall conduct proceedings and
hearing 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
8.8 At the time, notice of 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.
8.9 All Grievance Cell hearing, proceedings,
and meetings must be open to the public.
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.
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.
8.12 The Grievance cell 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 to 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 fare 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 ruling, 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 submits 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
stand 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 agent
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 period, it
shall take effect immediately so that after its
termination, the candidate and including the election
days.
# If, after a hearing, the Grievance
Cell finds that provisions of either this Code or
decisions, opinions, orders, or ruling 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 fine 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 heard.
# 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.
9 Maintaining Law and Order in the
Campus during the Election Process
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 6 hours after the alleged commission of the
offence.
10 Miscellaneous Recommendations
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.
10.2 Student representation should be regulated by statute
(either a Central Statute, State Statute or
individual university statutes), incorporating the
recommendations prescribed herein.
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.
10.4 In the event of the office of any major post of office
bearers falling vacant within two months of
elections, re- elections should be conducted; otherwise the
Vice President may be promoted to be post of
President and Joint Secretary to the post of Secretary,
as the case may be.`