HC grants DU time till November 20 to verify Ankiv Baisoya's degree

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday gave DU time till November 20 to verify authenticity of DUSU president Ankiv Baisoya's bachelors degree from a university in Tamil Nadu. Justice C Hari Shankar granted more time to Delhi University to carry out the verification on the varsity's request.

The court on October 30 had granted DU time till Monday to carry out the verification and inform it as the two-month period within which re-election could be held would expire on November 13.

The direction had come on NSUI student leader Sunny Chillar's plea seeking setting aside of Baisoya's election, alleging that according to news reports, the registrar of Thiruvalluvar University "unambiguously and unequivocally" declared that Baisoya's certificate was "fake and forged".

Chillar had alleged that DU was "deliberately delaying" verification to benefit the ABVP as no fresh polls would be held for the post of DUSU president in case Baisoya's election was set aside over the fake degree issue after expiry of the the two-month period.

His plea has said that according to the Lyngdoh committee guidelines on elections, if a post fell vacant within two months of declaration of results, fresh polls would be held. In this case, the two-month period would expire on Tuesday.

Chillar had contended that if Baisoya was removed after the expiry of the two-month period, the post of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president would be taken over by its vice president, who was also a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

In his plea, filed through advocates V Elanchezhiyan and Rashid N Azam, the National Students Union of India (NSUI) leader has sought a time-bound enquiry into the allegation that Baisoya gained admission in MA Buddhist Studies in DU on the basis of a fake degree. Chillar had lost to Baisoya in the race for the post of DUSU president.

Ruchi Gupta, national in-charge, NSUI, said, "The DU administration is deliberately delaying verification enquiry of Baisoya's certificate, so that the period of two month from the delay of declaration of election result could pass and re- election deliberately avoided to unduly benefit the ABVP."