JNUSU polls: Cancelling nomination 'contempt of court', says NSUI
New Delhi, Sep 8 : The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on Saturday condemned the cancellation of its presidential candidate Vikas Yadav's nomination by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) authorities, terming the decision "ridiculous" and in "contempt of court".
Yadav was intimated of the cancellation of his nomination by the JNU Dean Students' Welfare (DSW) office on Thursday evening, citing a proctorial inquiry previously initiated against him under which he was punished with a Rs 20,000 fine and hostel transfer.
The candidate from the Congress's student wing said he will challenge the decision in court.
"I got a mail from the Election Commission at 12.17 p.m. asking me to be present before the grievance redressal committee at 12.30 p.m. How could they expect me to acknowledge the mail and present myself before them, all in a mere 13 minutes," Yadav told reporters here.
He said the grounds on which his nomination has been cancelled are in contempt of the Delhi High Court's order, which had stayed his punishment then and the matter is now pending before the University Vice Chancellor.
The JNU authorities had initiated the proctorial inquiry against Yadav for protesting in the campus in February 2018, which, the student told reporters, was launched for the rights of students in reservation and seat-cut issues.
"This is the pattern that Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) follows. Whenever it feels threatened, it makes sure that the administration rises to the occasion to help it. Same thing happened with the case of Delhi University Students' Union President Rocky Tuseed," NSUI National in-charge, Ruchi Gupta, said.
She termed the decision "absolutely ridiculous" and "fascist", adding that the move was deliberately taken on the weekend so that the court's help cannot be sought.
According to the letter of cancellation sent to Yadav, the DSW cancelled his nomination on a complaint made by Dinesh Ashok, another JNU student.
The JNUSU elections are scheduled to take place on September 14.
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36 ex-judges slam Opposition move to impeach Justice Swaminathan
New Delhi (PTI): Thirty-six former judges on Saturday gave a call to people, including parliamentarians, to denounce opposition leaders' move to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, saying such an attempt, if allowed to proceed, would cut at the very roots of democracy and independence of the judiciary.
On December 1, Justice Swaminathan held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the Deepathoon, in addition to the customary lighting near the Uchi Pillaiyar Mandapam.
The single-judge bench said that doing so would not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community.
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The order sparked a row, and on December 9, several opposition MPs, led by the DMK, submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of the judge.
Taking serious exception to the move, the former judges in a joint statement said this is a "brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society".
"If such an attempt is permitted to proceed, it would cut at the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary," they said.
"We therefore call upon all stakeholders -- Members of Parliament across party lines, members of the Bar, civil society, and citizens at large -- to unequivocally denounce this move and ensure that it is nipped in the bud at the very inception," they added.
The statement emphasised that the judges must remain answerable to their oath and to the Constitution of India, not to "partisan political pressures or ideological intimidation".
"The message from all constitutional stakeholders must be clear and firm: in a republic governed by the rule of law, judgments are tested by appeals and legal critique, and not by threats of impeachment for political nonconformity," it said.
The statement was signed by former Supreme Court judge Krishn Murari J as well as ex-chief justices and former judges of different high courts.
The statement said the opposition party's move is not an "isolated aberration". It fits into a "clear and deeply troubling pattern" in India's recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests, it added.
"The unprecedented bid in 2018 to initiate impeachment proceedings against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the sustained campaigns of vilification directed at Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, S A Bobde and D Y Chandrachud while they were in office," the statement noted.
"The targeted attacks now being mounted against the incumbent CJI, Justice Surya Kant, whenever a judgment/remark displeases a political constituency, are all manifestations of the same trend," it said.
"This is not principled, reasoned criticism of judicial decisions; it is an attempt to weaponise impeachment and public calumny as instruments of pressure -- a practice that strikes at the heart of judicial independence and the basic norms of constitutional democracy," the statement added.
