Supreme Court nod to JNU students' union polls

The Supreme Court today permitted elections to the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) for the current academic year by relaxing the JM Lyngdoh committee's recommendations on age and attendance.

The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted elections to the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) for the current academic year by relaxing the JM Lyngdoh committee's recommendations on age and attendance.

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An apex court bench headed by justice AK Ganguly, while increasing the upper age limit to 30 years, waived requirement of 75 percent attendance as a requirement to contest elections to JNUSU.

Based on the Lyngdoh committee recommendations in 2006, no student beyond the age of 28 years and having less than 75 percent attendance is eligible to contest elections to students' unions in any university across the country.

JNU students had sought the relaxation of these two conditions on the grounds of it being essentially a research university where attendance is not mandatory.

In October 2008, the Supreme Court had stayed elections to JNUSU as the university does not have any attendance criteria.