The main legal point established in the judgment is that the name by which a candidate is allowed to contest the election should be the name on the rolls of the university, and the practice of candidates adding prefixes to their names for electoral advantage is flawed.

Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, J.--

1. This intra court appeal impugns the judgment dated 26th August, 2014 of the learned Single Judge of this Court of dismissal of W.P.(C) No.5465/2014 preferred by the three appellants.

2. Though the appeal came up first before us for admission only on 10th November, 2014 but the counsel for the respondents, the Delhi University and its Chief Election Officer for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Elections, 2014-2015 having appeared before us on advance notice, we, with consent of counsels, heard the counsels finally on the appeal and reserved judgment.

3. The writ petition from which this appeal arises was preferred, just prior to the DUSU elections scheduled to be held on 12th September, 2014, highlighting the practice prevalent in DUSU elections, of some of the contesting candidates, with a view to having their names listed first / at the top on the ballot paper of the post for which they are contesting the elections, adding the alphabet “A” or “a” before their names. It was pleaded that it was a belief that a large number of electorate / voters not committed to any particular contesting candidate but nevertheless exercising their voting right, exercise the same in favour of which-so-ever candidate’s name appears first on the ballot paper without even bothering to go through all the names on the ballot papers and which results in a candidate whose name appears first / at the top or higher up in the ballot paper, winning the election by using unfair means. The petition accordingly sought a direction to the respondents to allot the ballot number and / or serial number in which the names of the contesting candidates appear on the ballot paper, by holding a draw / lottery in a free and fair manner.

4. The learned Single Judge by the impugned judgment dismissed the writ petition in limine reasoning that there could not be any interference with election process already begun and the challenge if any to the election could be made only after the elections are over. It was also observed that the writ petition was premised on lack of awareness and maturity as well as understanding in the voters and which presumption could not be drawn.

5. Though the appeal had come up for consideration first on 29th August, 2014 i.e. well before the elections scheduled on 12th September, 2014 but the hearing thereof was adjourned to 10th November, 2014, as aforesaid.

6. The counsel for the appellants during the hearing on 10th November, 2014 clarified that the purport of the writ petition is not to challenge the elections even for the year 2014 but to set right the malady afflicting the DUSU elections.

7. Though the learned Single Judge has rightly observed that no presumption of the electorate / voters, who are students of an elite university, being so unaware and lacking in awareness, maturity and understanding could be drawn, but from the documents filed by the appellants along with the writ petition, pertaining to the DUSU elections in the year 2012 and 2013, we do indeed find several of the contesting candidates to have prefixed the letters “AAA”, “AA”, “aa”, “A.A”, “AAAA”, “aaa”, “a.a” or a name beginning with the letter “A”, to their names, resulting in such altered / changed name being listed at the top of the ballot paper, the names of contesting candidates wherein are listed alphabetically and which otherwise would have been listed at the bottom of the ballot paper. The contesting candidates having indulged in such a practice, this Court cannot turn a blind eye thereto. Candidates contesting the elections are usually savvier in such matters than the electorate / voters and generally make / are expected to make a study of the voting patterns and of the factors influencing victory and defeat in an election. If such contesting candidates have perceived that having their names first or on the top or higher up on the ballot paper, which appear to be prepared alphabetically, improves their chances of winning