Existing members of the General Council lose eligibility to participate in Senate elections upon the election of new University Union Councillors, necessitating reconstitution of the General Council before elections.

JUDGMENT :

V.G.ARUN, J.

1. The petitioner, a 1^st year BBA student of the KR'S Sree Narayana College, Valanchery, is elected as the University Union Councillor for the year 2025-2026, in the College Union Election conducted on 09.10.2025. The petitioner is aggrieved by the proposal of the Calicut University, to conduct election of the ten student members to the Senate of the University from among the members of the General Council of the University Union for the year 2024-2025. Hence this writ petition, seeking the following reliefs;

“(i) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, directing the respondents Nos. 1 to 3 not to proceed with the Senate election scheduled to be conducted on 06.11.2025 as per Exhibit P2, until the grievance raised by the petitioner regarding the eligibility of the members of the General Council of the University Union is duly considered and appropriate action is taken, in the interest of justice.

(ii) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, directing the respondents Nos. 1 to 3 to conduct the Senate election only from the members of the General Council of the University Union for the year 2025- 2026, including the petitioner and all other duly elected members, in accordance with the provisions of the Calicut University Act , 1975, and the Constitution of the Calicut University Union.

(iii) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writs, orders or directions directing the 2^nd and 3^rd respondent to consider the ExhibitP5 and ExhibitP6 representations within a time frame stipulated by this Hon’ble Court.”

2. Adv.P.K.Vivek, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, submits that the proposal of the University to conduct election to the Senate from among the members of the General Council of the University Union 2024-2025, who were elected on 10.10.2024, in spite of the election of new members on 09.10.2025, is patently illegal and in contravention of Ext.P4, 'Constitution of the Calicut University Union'. In support of the argument, reference is made to the stipulation in Article VI of Ext.P4, that the General Council of the University Union should include the University Union Councillors of the College Unions of the affiliated colleges and the members will hold office for one year or till the date of next election for the College Union. It is contended that, by the next election for the College Union being concluded on 09.10.2025, the University Union Councillors elected in the previous academic year ceased to be members of the General Council. Being so, election to the Senate has to be conducted after re-constituting the General Council with the newly elected University Union Councillors and revising the electoral roll.

3. It is submitted that as per the 3rdproviso to Section 18 (3) of Chapter IV of the Calicut University Act , 1975, the term of the ten student members elected by the the General Council shall be one year from the date of the election or nomination as the case may be. The Senate of the Calicut University was reconstituted in the year 2023- 2024 and continued after the expiry of its tenure. Even after the election to the College Unions for the year 2024- 2025, no action was taken by the University to reconstitute the General Council till 27.06.2025. According to the counsel, issuance of Ext.P2 notification on 09.10.2025 for electing full time student members to the Senate from the General Council, the date on which a new set of University Union Councillors got elected and thereby became entitled to be included in the General Council, is nothing but a mala fide exercise of power.

4. Adv.P.C.Sasidharan, the learned standing counsel for the University, submits that