NEW DELHI: Barely days after the Delhi HC struck down DU’s move to mandate a Rs 1 lakh security bond for student union election candidates a fresh controversy erupted on Wednesday over a new condition introduced by the DU Students’ Union Election Commission.
On September 3, the commission issued a new proforma requiring candidates to furnish a surety bond against defacement on campus. Unlike the earlier affidavit, the new form makes it compulsory to provide the names, signatures and bank details of parents of those aspiring to contest the polls.
Student organisations All India Students’ Association and Students’ Federation of India, which had earlier challenged the Rs 1 lakh bond in court, have once again approached the HC against this fresh condition. The groups termed it an “attack on autonomy” and a “tactic of intimidation” that disproportionately affects women and students from marginalised backgrounds.
“As adults who come to the university and contest elections of their own volition, why is parental consent being made mandatory? Many women students may not wish to involve their parents in these decisions, and this clause directly curbs their autonomy,” AISA leaders Anjali and Manish, also petitioners in the case, said in a statement. Last week, the university told the High Court it would only seek a regular affidavit instead of the Rs 1 lakh bond. Student groups now allege that by adding the parental surety clause, DU is going against its own assurance to the court.
Abhigyan, senior AISA leader, said, “The DU has otherwise never involved parents from admissions to withdrawals but why now? This new rule is no less than intimidation by the University administration.”