NEW DELHI: In compliance with the September 26 High Court order, the Delhi University has begun whitewashing the walls defaced by political organisations during the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections.
Though the election took place on September 27, the High Court order had restricted the announcement of results until the North and South campuses are cleaned. The student unions have submitted memorandums repeatedly to the Vice-Chancellor seeking the declaration of results.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 21, after which a decision will be made.
A couple of students took to social media to share how the walls outside the colleges are being painted white to hide the defacement. They informed that the work had started on October 13.
An application was filed in the court in a pending petition seeking action against the DUSU candidates and student outfits involved in damaging, defacing, soiling or destroying the beauty of public walls.
Petitioner Prashant Manchanda, a practising advocate, had stated the erring candidates and their parties be directed to remove the defacement, refurbish the areas and further make efforts to beautify the destroyed portions.
The court granted the candidates, petitioner, MCD, and DMRC time to file their status reports and listed the matter for October 21.
Both the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the NSUI, the two student bodies in competition, have been demanding the VC to declare the results as soon as possible by submitting a report in the High Court.
Ahead of the polls on September 26, the court halted the counting of votes in the DUSU and college elections until all the defacement material, including posters, hoarding, and graffiti, were removed and the public property was restored.
It stated that its intension was not to hinder the election process but to convey that such violations were unacceptable.
While the DUSU polling was held on September 27, the votes were to be counted on September 28.