Sixteen of 21 Jawaharlal Nehru University students who were found guilty by the university-appointed enquiry committee in connection with the February 9 incident on campus have found their names missing from the voters’ list for the students’ union polls.
The students have been informed by the university administration that they will not be allowed to participate in the polls unless they pay the fine the appellate body had imposed on them.
Former JNUSU general secretary Rama Naga said when the voters’ lists were put up on Tuesday by the JNU election commission, 16 student found their names missing from the list.
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“According to a provision in JNU, in case of a problem in the voting list, a student can write to the administrative officer of the school in which he/she is enrolled and the name is then forwarded to the EC to correct the problem. However, on pointing out that our names were missing, we were told that our names were not included in the voting list because of the “fine pending with the Chief Proctor’s Office,” Mr. Naga said.
He further alleged that the administration has been creating hurdles at every stage to harass the students on the pretext of the February 9 incident.
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Mr. Naga added that an administration order dated August 23 states that “the office order will be effective after 15 days of receipt of this order”.
“The 15 days are yet to be completed. The last verdict by the court in case of the High Level Enquiry Committee [HLEC] also says that students can come to the court if they feel dissatisfied with the decision of the appellate authority.”
Of the 21 students found guilty by the HLEC, two students were never identified, two were from outside campus and one student, Anirban Bhattacharya, has completed his PhD.
Former JNUSU joint secretary Saurabh Sharma said he too was shocked to find his name was missing from the list.
“Voting rights cannot be taken away by the administration. Even after the entire enquiry, this attitude continues. If our names are not on the electoral roles, we cannot propose or second new candidates in their nomination papers.”
Ishita Manna, the chief election commissioner, said those who do not find their names on the list, those involved in the February 9 incident or otherwise, will need to get a bonafide certificate from their respective schools to get their names added to the list.
The appellate authority had last week found all 16 named by the HLEC guilty and only reduced some of the fines imposed after hearing the pleas of the students. The students had been given punishments ranging from rustication and hostel debarment to financial penalty.
The last date for filing of nominations for the JNUSU polls is Wednesday.