Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court intervened in the Gauhati University Postgraduate Students Union election on Wednesday, October 14. The court froze the results for the general secretary post. It ordered that no candidate can take office until the next hearing. The ruling specifically hits the 2026-27 election cycle.
This legal move stems from a petition by Nayan Akash Bora. His nomination for general secretary was previously tossed out. That rejection cleared the way for Madhurjya Plabon Talukdar, an ABVP-backed candidate, to be declared elected unopposed. The court clarified that the stay only applies to this one position, meaning other elected union members can continue their work.
The dispute traces back to September 24. A university election tribunal barred Bora from running for president and general secretary. The tribunal cited his enrollment in both the Folklore Studies and Women's Studies departments. Officials argued this violated university admission ordinances and University Grants Commission guidelines on simultaneous enrollment. They also flagged concerns about Bora using the fee-waiver category for both programs.
Bora, who had the backing of the All Assam Students Union, did not accept the decision quietly. He launched a hunger strike and led campus protests to demand transparency. The university claims it followed protocol. "An appeal hearing committee was constituted on September 26 following legal consultation," the school stated regarding Bora's appeals filed on September 25 and 26.
Tensions boiled over when the university suspended the general secretary post, leading to more demonstrations. Students also protested to support Talukdar. The situation grew messy when a group tried to block the vote-counting process, forcing the administration to call the police. The court now holds the final word on the seat, keeping the general secretary position in limbo.
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