Undated photographs that do not show who the people in them are, or when the events took place, cannot sustain a challenge to a student union election, the Delhi High Court has held, turning down an NSUI candidate’s bid to set aside the result of the DUSU presidential contest.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, September 30, dismissed a petition by Vijay Shankar Meena, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) candidate for the post of President in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, challenging the results over alleged electoral malpractice and partisan campaigning by university officials in favour of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) [Vijay Shankar Meena v. University of Delhi and Others].
Justice Saurabh Banerjee found the photographs relied on by the petitioner insufficient to support the allegations, and recorded Delhi University’s statement that his pending representation would be decided expeditiously.
Background of the case
In the results declared on September 19, ABVP candidate Yash Dabas was elected DUSU President with 24,576 votes, while Meena polled 22,523 votes, a margin of 2,053. Meena sought quashing of the result and preservation of CCTV footage from five colleges.
The petition alleged that university and college officials, including principals, professors and election officers at certain colleges, openly campaigned for ABVP candidates, compromising the neutrality of the election machinery. It also pointed to voter turnout of up to 80 per cent in some colleges against a university-wide figure of 40.46 per cent, and claimed that these disparities, along with alleged coercion, raised doubts about the fairness of the polls. The petitioner contended that such conduct breached the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, which require institutional neutrality in student elections and bar the use of administrative machinery to favour any candidate or organisation.
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Photographs undated and without particulars
Examining the photographs placed on record, the Court held that they were not sufficient to establish that any person seen in them was part of Delhi University or was canvassing for any contestant during the elections. It noted that the images were undated and lacked particulars, and so could not be examined further, and that none of the individuals purportedly shown in them had been made parties to the petition.
The Court also held that the Lyngdoh Committee report was of no assistance to the petitioner, as he had been unable to show the date and time of the events he relied on.
Representation to be decided
Counsel for Delhi University told the Court that the petitioner’s representation, submitted four days earlier, would be decided as expeditiously as possible. Taking note of the statement, the Court dismissed the petition. The Court has not recorded any finding that the alleged campaigning took place, and the allegations against the officials named in the petition remain unproven.
Case Title: Vijay Shankar Meena v. University of Delhi and Others
Bench: Justice Saurabh Banerjee, Delhi High Court
Date of Order: September 30, 2026
