Concealment of criminal record by NSUI candidate serious: HC

The Delhi High Court today termed as "very serious" the alleged concealment of criminal record by NSUI presidential candidate who won the recent Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election.
The court was informed about the alleged concealment and suppression of facts from the authorities by Rocky Tuseed, who was elected as DUSU President, by opponent ABVP candidate Rajat Chaudhary.
"It is very serious. It is concealment," Justice Indermeet Kaur said while issuing notice to Tuseed and Delhi University on an impleadment application filed by Chaudhary.
The application was filed in a pending petition by Tuseed in which he has challenged the Delhi University (DU) Election Commission's order rejecting his nomination for the polls on the grounds of disciplinary action.

The court sought Tuseed's and the unversity's responses on the plea and listed the matter for November 15.
Chaudhary said as per the guidelines of the Lyngdoh committee, the candidate shall not have a previous criminal record, nor tried or convicted of any criminal offence and shall not have been subject to any disciplinary action by the university authorities.

The plea claimed that Tuseed has not disclosed to DU authorities that an FIR was lodged against him in 2014 at Rajouri Garden Police Station in West Delhi for the alleged offences of causing hurt, attempt to murder, trespass and common intention and that he had remained in judicial custody from August 28, 2014 to September 15, 2014. A charge sheet was also filed in the case.

The RSS-backed ABVP candidate, in his plea filed through advocates Jivesh Tiwari and Suman Chauhan, said there was "deliberate suppression and misrepresentation of facts and narration of false facts by the petitioner (Tuseed) in the proceedings".
They sought to recall the court's September 8 and September 12 interim orders by which Tuseed was allowed to contest the polls and DU was allowed to announce the result.
"Various illegal and unlawful practices were adopted by the petitioner (Tuseed) to win the elections by hook or crook and it has ultimately caused irreparable loss and injury to the applicant (Chaudhary)," the plea alleged.

The high court had in an interim order on September 8 allowed Tuseed to contest the DUSU elections while setting aside the September 7 order of DU Chief Election Officer.
It had also modified its earlier order and allowed DU to declare the election result on September 13.