Delhi HC Restores NSUI Candidate in DUSU Polls Days After Being Disqualified by Varsity

New Delhi: Four days ahead of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections, the Congress student wing National Students' Union of India (NSUI) won a major legal victory on Friday as the Delhi High Court restored the candidature of Rocky Tuseed, its presidential candidate.

Tuseed was disqualified last week by the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Delhi University due to an incident of indiscipline dating back to 2014. Meanwhile, there was confusion in the ABVP camp as the ballot number of their presidential candidate Rajjat Chaudhary was changed from number 5 to 8.

"He (Tuseed) was banned from entering the college in 2014. Lyngdoh Committee guidelines stipulate that no candidate should have a case of any disciplinary action against him," DU CEO SH Babbar had told the media.

Meanwhile, NSUI has approached the HC to seek a stay on the election. As a fail-safe, it had declared Alka, a second-year undergraduate student at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, as its official presidential candidate. On Friday, the HC granted relief to the NSUI and Tuseed, reinstating him as a presidential candidate.

Tuseed, who was then a third-year student at Shivaji College, was censured by the College administration for indiscipline. He had allegedly broken furniture in 2014, for which he was punished. On those grounds, his candidature for the post of DUSU president was cancelled.

Ruchi Gupta, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for NSUI, claimed this was political vendetta. "The rules are clearly being bent for the benefit of one student outfit – the ABVP. If this disciplinary action was, indeed, an issue, how did Rocky clear the initial screening process? The notion of 'disciplinary action' is so arbitrary because it is whatever the college deems it to be."

Neeraj Mishra, NSUI National Media Coordinator, said, "We have won a great legal victory today since Rocky has been restored as the Presidential candidate. This was a fight against an arbitrary ruling that sought to benefit the ABVP. We are glad that justice has won today."