Lyngdoh Committee and Student Union Elections: A Study

Abstract

The Supreme Court of India, while hearing a petition filed by the University of Kerala challenging the decision of the Kerala High Court on 19 September 2005, directed the Central Government to give directions regarding the country's student union elections. Set up a high level committee headed by a judge or a former election commissioner. According to the order, the Ministry of Human Resources constituted a six-member committee under the leadership of former Election Commissioner of India James Michael Lyngdoh as per the directions of the Court. Whose main recommendations are as follows-

• Candidate should have minimum 75% attendance. The minimum percentage of marks should also be fixed and he should be a regular student.
• The candidate should not have any criminal record.
• The election expenses of the candidate should not exceed 5000.
• The candidate shall submit his audited report of expenditure details to the University/College Administration within two weeks of the declaration of result.

After the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, a new framework for the student union elections was prepared in the universities of India, which was supported and opposed by the students. After the order of the Supreme Court, from 2007, student union elections were started in all the universities of the country on the basis of the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee.