Legal principle established: Election petitions become academic if the official terms have expired, preventing practical relief despite any alleged misconduct.

JUDGMENT :

MINI PUSHKARNA, J.

1. The present writ petition has been filed seeking directions to the respondent nos. 1 and 2 to cancel the candidature of Mr. Lokesh Choudhary, i.e., respondent no. 3, and to declare the petitioner as the successful candidate for the post of Joint Secretary in the Delhi University Students' Union (“DUSU”) Election 2024-2025.

2. The facts as canvassed in the petition, are as follows:

2.1 The petitioner is a student of University of Delhi admitted in the Department of Buddhist Studies. He was one of the candidates who contested for the post of Joint Secretary in the DUSU Elections 2024-2025, and secured second position in the said elections.

2.2 Respondent no. 3 was also one of the candidates who contested the elections of DUSU 2024-2025, and was elected for the post of Joint Secretary in the said elections.

2.3 On 23^rd September, 2024, the petitioner received information that respondent no. 3 had failed in the second and fourth semester of his LLB Course, and that he had failed in three out of five exams in his fifth semester. As a result, the respondent no. 3 was technically barred from contesting elections in terms of Clause 4 of the University of Delhi, Code of Conduct (For the candidates contesting DUSU and College Students' Union Elections 2024-2025).

2.4 When the abovementioned fact came to the knowledge of the petitioner, he made a representation/complaint dated 23^rd September, 2024, before the Chief Election Officer of the University of Delhi, i.e., respondent no. 2 herein. In the said representation, the petitioner also mentioned that due to the backlogs of his previous semester exams, the respondent no. 3 had taken admission in the Department of Buddhist Studies, which is a clear violation of Clause 4 of the Code of Conduct.

2.5 The respondent no. 1 vide reply dated 21^st December, 2024, intimated to the petitioner that no action is required against respondent no. 3, and his documents are in order. Therefore, the elections were held on 27^th September, 2024, and respondent no. 3 was allowed to contest the elections. 2.6 The result of the elections for the Academic Year 2024-25, was delayed and declared on 25^th November, 2024, wherein, the respondent no. 3 was declared as the successful candidate for the post of Joint Secretary and the petitioner secured the second position.

2.7 The respondent no. 3 contested the elections for the post of Joint Secretary under the name "Lokesh Choudhary" whereas, in his mark sheet of Department of Faculty of Law, College Law Centre-1, his name is mentioned as "Lokesh."

2.8 Aggrieved by the appointment of respondent no. 3 to the post of Joint Secretary, the present writ petition has been filed.

3. On behalf of the petitioner, it is submitted as follows:

3.1 The respondent no. 3 has won the election by misrepresentation, and by using unfair means, as he was not eligible for contesting the elections.

3.2 Further, the respondent no. 3, by changing his name from "Lokesh" to "Lokesh Choudhary" clearly shows the intention of respondent no. 3 to misrepresent by changing his name and getting admitted in a different department to contest the elections.

3.3 Respondent no. 3 has clearly violated the terms mentioned in Clause 4 of the University of Delhi, Code of Conduct (For the candidates contesting DUSU and College Students' Union Elections 2024-2025), the terms of which state as under:

“xxx xxx xxx

“4. The candidate should in no event have any academic arrears in the year of contesting the election. Any pending paper(s) will be construed as academic arrear(s). Candidates failed in the preceding academic year and/or re-admitted in the current academic year will not be eligible to contest the el