Delhi HC Rejects Plea for 50% Women’s Reservation in DUSU Elections, Says ‘We Can’t Create A Right’ (Source: Canva) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (September 2) said it cannot ask Delhi University to offer 50 per cent reservation to women in its students’ union elections, as no legal provision exists to grant such a right. As reported by PTI, the oral observation was made during the hearing of a PIL seeking directions to the varsity to earmark half of the total seats to women in the forthcoming DUSU elections. As per the official schedule, DUSU elections will take place on September 18, 2026. The last date for filing nominations is set as September 10, 2026. The bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia opined that a court does not deal with “should-be matters” and asked the petitioner to show the law conferring a right on women students to demand reserved DUSU posts. "We are here to protect your right. We can't create a right. Tell us where this right (of reservation for women students) flows from? You are asking us to create a right," the court said. The counsel for the petitioner, however, contended that the reservation for women candidates was for students’ welfare, adding that it would alleviate “violence” during polls because female students abide by the law. "Are you saying that by providing 50 per cent reservation violence will be abated? Are you saying they are less violent? What is this argument?" the court asked. Meanwhile, the bench issued a notice to the university and listed the matter for further hearing on November 27, 2026. Petitioner Shabana Hussain, an advocate, in her Public Interest Litigation (PIL), said there was notable disparity in the participation and representation of female students in elections for DUSU and students' unions of other colleges despite the university’s forward-looking ethos. The plea said the underrepresentation of female students in elected student bodies culminates in inadequate attention to issues like sexual harassment, hostel facilities, curfew timings, washrooms and other gender-specific concerns. "The University of Delhi has more than 1 lakh students, out of whom approximately 53 per cent are female students, yet their representation in elected student bodies remains disproportionately low. During the period from 2013 to 2024, out of 32 elected DUSU representatives, only eight were female, and there has been no female DUSU president since 2009," the PIL said. The petition further stressed that the constitutional framework itself recognises the significance of women's political representation, and Parliament has also enacted the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in all state assembly and Parliament elections. To roll out the law effectively, the execution should begin from the base level, it added. The demand for 50 per cent women reservation in DUSU elections forms part of Students’ Federation of India (SFI)’s Women Students' Manifesto, which was released during a protest march against the alleged gang-rape of a Class 11 girl on a bus. The manifesto, emphasising the pressing need for women's safety, representation and gender justice, called for voting rights for all women's colleges in DUSU elections and 50 per cent reservation for women in the union's office-bearer positions.