AISA moves Delhi HC against Rs 1L bond rule for DUSU poll

The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has moved the Delhi High Court challenging Delhi University’s directive that candidates must submit a bond of Rs 1 lakh to contest the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. The matter is scheduled for hearing on Tuesday.

The AISA termed the bond provision “discriminatory and exclusionary”, arguing that it undermines the democratic spirit of student politics by restricting participation to those who can afford such a large amount. The organisation said the move would marginalise students from modest and working-class backgrounds.

Speaking at the event, Anjali, AISA activist, said, “In this regime, the attack on student unions is not new, from one university to another we have seen systematic attempts to silence democratic spaces. Today, Delhi University has also taken an undemocratic step, hiding behind the language of curbing money and muscle power, while in reality imposing conditions that alienate and exclude vast sections of students.”

“If contesting elections requires a one-lakh bond, then voices from villages, middle-class families, and marginalised communities are silenced even before the process begins. This directly violates the spirit of the Delhi High Court’s own advice for 50% reservation for women in DUSU,” Anjali added.

Fellow activist Abhishek Kumar, a student of Hindu College, echoed the sentiment. “My father came to Delhi as a labourer and later joined the CRPF. Students like me, who come from such backgrounds, see the need for accessibility and social justice in university spaces. Student unions should represent freedom of expression, not be bound by someone’s bank balance.”

According to AISA, the provision violates the Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations, which stress accessibility and minimal expenditure in student elections, and lacks any authority under the Delhi University Act or the DUSU Constitution. They argued that the bond represents a form of economic discrimination that contradicts the ethos of student unions, where political representation should not be linked to wealth or affluence.