Rocky Tuseed’s term will end in two weeks. Archive
Rocky Tuseed will remain president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), after the Delhi High Court Tuesday put on hold its single judge order that had held him ineligible for the post. The single judge had said Tuseed furnished false information in his affidavit to the poll panel at the time of nominations.
A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Chander Shekhar stayed the single judge’s July 20 order till August 29, the next date of hearing. “Till then, let him (Tuseed) continue,” it said. It also issued notice to DU and its Chief Election Officer and asked them to file their stand.
The bench asked the varsity to produce original records pertaining to Tuseed’s disqualification. Tuseed’s term will end in two weeks. Senior counsel Salman Khurshid and advocate Nikhil Bhalla, appearing for Tuseed, submitted that the only document before the Election Officer for rejecting the appellant’s candidature was an email from Shivaji College and legal opinion.
“The committee did not apply their mind to the document and issues. Thus, the rejection suffers from non-application of mind by the statutory authority. They cannot reject the candidature of the appellant based on the opinion of a lawyer, but must apply their mind independently,” the counsel said, and sought setting aside of the single judge’s order.
Tuseed was disqualified on September 6, 2017 for not disclosing in his nomination form for the DUSU polls that disciplinary action was taken against him for assaulting a student in his college. This order, however, was put on hold by the High Court.
During pendency of his plea challenging the varsity decision, he became president. The single judge had said Tuseed did not disclose that an FIR was lodged against him in 2014 at Rajouri Garden police station for alleged offences of causing hurt, attempt to murder, trespass and common intention, and that he had remained in judicial custody from August 28 to September 15, 2014. A chargesheet had also filed been filed.