Plea Filed in HC demanding Panjab University Senate Election Schedule

A petition in the High Court seeks the schedule for Panjab University Senate elections. The plea says the delay affects the university’s democratic functioning.

Schedule of Panjab University Senate Election: A petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been filed seeking immediate notification for the schedule of the Panjab University Senate elections. The petitioner, Harpreet Singh Dua , is contending that the university’s highest decision-making body, the Senate, has been devoid of elected members since November 2024, which goes against the democratic principles on which the university is run. The petition asks for a direction to the respondents to declare the schedule for the elections without further delay.

As per the plea, the postponement of elections is intentional and dictated by vested interests, which are not in a hurry to go to the polls in a fair and transparent process. The petitioner notes that a government notification dated October 28, 2025 , called for the reduction of the number of members of the Senate and the substitution of some elected seats with nominated ones. That, he says, was an arbitrary act and " desecration" of the university's democratic fabric .
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The matter has sparked widespread protests across the entire campus, and students and professors are calling for the reinstatement of a democratic administration. Student groups recently locked the university gates and classes were suspended, announcing they would maintain the agitation until the election timetable is announced. The protesters say the postponement has silenced the voice of elected representatives and concentrated power in decision-making.

The plea further states that the university and the Chancellor were earlier directed by the court to file a response, but there is no cooperation in completing the electoral process. Such a protracted silence, the petitioner urges, illustrates an absence of responsibility and transparency in the regime. The High Court has now issued a notice of motion in the case, which is likely to be taken up in December 2025 .

This is a significant mark in the life of Panjab University, as it challenges the growing concerns in the matter of autonomy and democratic functioning within higher education institutions. The ruling that the court will announce soon is expected to decide if the university’s Senate elections will at last be held and how the administration will treat the issue of governance in the future.

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