The Delhi High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by two students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) challenging the validity of Clause 5(j) of the General Instructions issued for the Internal Committee (IC) Elections 2024–25, which allowed students to vote across all three constituencies undergraduate, postgraduate, and research scholar instead of only within their own.
Justice Mini Pushkarna held that the University’s decision to permit cross-constituency voting was neither arbitrary nor discriminatory, and in fact enhanced the democratic and participatory character of the elections. The Court noted that the change was based on recommendations of a duly constituted committee and was made to ensure inclusivity and equity in view of the uneven student distribution across constituencies.
Rejecting the petitioners’ argument that the rule change violated the “no rule change after the game begins” doctrine, the Court observed that expanding the voter base did not alter the eligibility criteria or fundamental rules of the election but only widened participation. Referring to V. Lavanya v. State of Tamil Nadu (2017) 1 SCC 322, the Court reiterated that allowing more people to participate does not amount to changing the “rules of the game.”
The Court found that all candidates were placed on an equal footing, as the change applied uniformly and no material prejudice was caused to any participant. The elections, conducted transparently and democratically, therefore could not be invalidated on speculative grounds.
Emphasising judicial restraint in reviewing administrative decisions, the Court concluded that there was no illegality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety in JNU’s decision-making process and dismissed the petition.
Appearances:
Petitioner: Mr. Sanjay Poddar, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Jivesh Tiwari and Mr. Akash Vajpai, Advs.
Respondent: Mr. Abhik Chimni, Ms. Pranjal Abral, Mr. Gurupal Singh, Mr. Rishabh Gupta and Mr. Ayan Dasgupta, Advs. for R-4 to 6
Mr. Vasanth Rajasekaran, SC with Mr. Karan Prakash, Mr. Harsvardhan, Mr. Om Bali and Ms. Deepshikha, Advs. for JNU
