UNIVERSITY OF KERALA Vs. COUNCIL PRINCIPALS COLLEGES KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Gopal Subramanium, learned amicus curiae, Mr. Sanjay Parikh, learned counsel appearing for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union, Mr. A.C. Dhanda, learned counsel for Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) authorities and also Mr. M.L. Lahoty, learned counsel appearing for the Youth for Equality Students.

(2.) The instant matter comes up before us by way of Interlocutory Applications No. 22-23 and 24 filed by the JNU Students' Union and the learned Amicus Curiae respectively.

(3.) It appears that by way of judicial intervention, this Court wanted to introduce fairness and transparency in the holding of elections to the Students' Unions in various Universities across the country. The main thrust behind such intervention is because of the fact that the general election scenario in this country is murky and suffering from mob-muscle methods which have deleterious effects on various elections including conduct of free and fair elections to the students' unions. Elections to students' bodies has been badly affected throughout the country. It goes without saying that the students are the future representatives in various democratic bodies like State Legislative Assemblies as well as Parliament in our democratic set up. This Court, therefore, thought that a value based mechanism should be inculcated at a very early stage in the elections of students' bodies so that the same ultimately transforms and improves the quality of general elections to strengthen the democratic governance of the country. This Court, therefore, on the basis of important public law principles, intervened in the judgment rendered by Kerala High Court where the main controversy in a students' body election was whether the form of elections should be Parliamentary or Presidential.