Overview

• A division bench led by Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De urged the West Bengal government to inform the court of election schedules for student union bodies across colleges and universities.
• The state has been ordered to file a sworn affidavit within 14 days detailing its plan to notify and conduct polls that have been on hold for nearly a decade.
• West Bengal’s Higher Education Department issued a circular locking student union rooms statewide, restricting access to those with written permission from university authorities.
• The bench instructed that elections proceed at institutions where full-term vice-chancellors are in place, rejecting delays tied to administrative vacancies.
• The court stressed that governing bodies in higher education should exclude political figures and instead be composed of educationists to safeguard campus neutrality.