CONSTITUTION

OF THE

JAWAHARLAL
NEHRU UNIVERSITY

STUDENTS’ UNION
 CONSTITUTION OF THE
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNION

PREAMBLE

We, the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University hereby organise ourselves into a students’ union
named as “Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union”, henceforth known as the Union, adopt and
give to ourselves the following constitution.

The Union shall have the following aims and objectives:

1. The Union shall strive to live up to the important role students have to play in the development
and progress of our people.
2. The Union shall endeavour to make our academic courses relevant to the needs of our society
and meet the expectations our people have from us.
3. The Union shall endeavour to democratise the structure of decision-making in the University
in order to be able to effectively strive for relevance in our education.
4. The Union shall promote and safeguard the genuine interests of the student community, and
link it up with the democratic movement in the country, including struggles for gender equality.
5. In order to achieve the above mentioned aims and objectives, the Union will function at two
levels, viz., the University level and the School level.

PART- I
DEFINITIONS

Article 1.

(i) Member :- All students of this University shall be the members of the Students’ Union. However,
no member of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Karamchari Sangathan or the Jawaharlal Nehru
University Teachers Association can be a member of the Students’ Union.
(ii) Students :-
a. Full-time :- Any person who is on the rolls of the University for a full-time course will be
deemed full-time student.
b. Part-time :- Any person who is on the rolls of the University for a part-time course, will be
deemed a part-time student.
(iii) The Students’ Council :- The students’ council consists of the office bearers; President, Vice-
President, General Secretary and Joint Secretary and students Councillors of schools and the part-time
students of the University elected as per the procedure defined in Part IV of the constitution.
(iv) The School :- A school will be deemed a school when it comes to have a strength of 20 full-time
students.
However, in the event of their existence, all such schools with a strength of less than 50, for the purpose
of representation, shall be amalgamated together or with the school having the least number of students.
The representation will be governed by the election procedures outlined in Article 13 clause (ii).
(v) The Part-time Constituency :- All part-time students shall constitute a part-time constituency.
However, no full-time student enrolled for a part-time course will be a member of this constituency.
The representation will be governed by the election procedures outlined in Article 13 clause (iii).
(vi) School level activities :- Any activity that does not involve any obligation of the other school, and
does not involve the university authorities beyond school level.
(vii) University level activities :- All activities of the student body excluding those governed by Article
1 clause (vi).
(viii) Extraordinary Matters :
The following matter shall be deemed as “Extraordinary Matters”, decisions on which have to be taken
according to the procedure as outlined in Article 4 (ii) and 11 (ii)-(a)
Any decision involving direct action by all students of this University. (b) Amendments to the
constitution.

PART-II
THE STUDENTS COUNCIL

Article 2. Function of the Students Council:

(i) The Students Council shall work as a deliberative body where all matters concerning the students
will be discussed and decisions taken thereon.
(ii) It shall decide matters concerning the general policy of the Union: it will control finances and grant
money to the President/ General Secretary.
(iii) The Student Councillors of respective schools and of the part-time constituency will work as a
collective executive for looking after the Union functions at the school level or part- time constituency
level as the case may be.
(iv) Sub-committee of the Students Council :- Sub-committees will be elected by the Students Council
from amongst their members to carry out such functions, as defined by the Council.

Article 3.

(i) Sessions of the Students Council :- The students Council will be in session at least once a month.
However, the General Secretary in consultation with the President can call a special session when they
feel it necessary with 12 hours notice. Also a similar meeting will have to be called on demand by one
third of the total number of student councillors.
The demand should be presented either to the President or to the General Secretary, who will call such
a meeting within 48 hours of receipt of such a demand.
(ii) Half of the total number of the members of the council will constitute the Quorum for the meetings,
with a minimum of 2 student councillors from the schools which may have 4 to 6 councillors and
minimum 1 from the schools which may have 2 or 3 councillors. In schools from where only 1
councillor is sent, his/ her presence is not essential for quorum except when discussing matters
concerning that school.
(iii) The President shall chair the meetings of the Council. In the absence of the President, the Vice-
President shall chair the meeting. In the absence of both President and Vice-President, the council will
elect a chairman from among themselves. The chairman shall have only a casting vote.
Article 4.

Decisions in the Council :-

(i) In ordinary matters the decision will be taken by a simple majority present and voting.
(ii) In extraordinary matters defined in the constitution, the decision will be taken by a two-thirds
majority of total members of the council.

Article 5. President

(i) There will be a President directly elected by students of the University in the manner outlined in Part
IV of the constitution.
(ii) The term of office of President shall be 1 year subject to provisions of extension of tenure as
specified in Part IV.
(iii) The President shall be the chief executive of the Union. He/ she shall chair the meetings of the
students council and participate in its deliberations and have only a casting vote.
The President shall execute the mandate given by the students council and look after the day to day
work of the union.

Article 6. General Secretary

(i) There will be a General Secretary elected by students of the University in the manner outlined in
Part IV.
(ii) The term of the General Secretary shall be 1 year. This term can be extended in accordance with the
provision contained in Part IV.
(iii) The General Secretary shall aid and advice the President in his/ her day to day work. He/she in
consultation with the President, will be responsible for calling the regular meeting of the students
council and keeping the record of minutes of the meeting.
(iv) The General Secretary is debarred from chairing the meeting of the student council by virtue of his/
her office.

Article 7. Vice-President

(i) There will be a Vice-President directly elected by students of the University in the manner outlined
in Part IV of the constitution.
(ii) The term of the Vice-President will be 1 year. This term can be extended in accordance with the
provisions outlined in Part IV.
(iii) The Vice-President will aid and advice the President in his/ her day to day work. He/ she will
officiate as the President in the absence of the President.

Article 8. Joint Secretary

(i) There will be a Joint Secretary directly elected by the students of the University in the manner
outlined in Part IV of the constitution.
(ii) The term of the Joint Secretary shall be for the period of 1 year. The term can be extended in
accordance with provisions outlined in Part IV.
(iii) The Joint Secretary will aid and advice the General Secretary in his/ her day to day activities. He/
she will officiate as General Secretary in the absence of the General Secretary.
(iv) The Joint Secretary is debarred from chairing the meetings of the students council by virtue of his/
her office.

PART-III
GENERAL BODIES AND FINANCE

Article 9. School General Body

(i) Each school shall have a general body consisting of all full-time students of the school. This is the
sovereign body of all students of the School and the ultimate decision-making body as regards affairs
of each school. The body will give decisions to the student councillors of the school.
(ii) The School General Body shall be convened at least twice a semester, to give decision to the
councillors. Three days’ notice is necessary for calling an ordinary General Body Meeting.
(iii) The Quorum for its meetings shall be 1/6 of the total membership of the school.
(iv) The students’ councillors of each school will elect a convenor from among themselves for the whole
term to convene and call meetings. In case of a tie, General Body will be consulted.
(v) In exceptional circumstances the meetings of the General Body can be convened with a 24 hours
notice by the President and General Secretary. It can also be requisitioned by 1/10 of the General Body.
This should be addressed to the convenor of the school. Such a meeting should be convened within 48
hours (excluding holidays) of the receipt of such a demand with a 24 hours notice.

Article 10. University General Body

(i) The University General Body shall consist of all the full-time students of the University. This is the
sovereign body of all students of the University, and ultimate decision-making body as regards affairs
of the University Students Union and its decision is binding on the Student Council.
(ii) A University General Body can be called by the President and General Secretary on behalf of the
students council with 48 hours notice. A University General Body can also be requisitioned by 1/10 of
the students of the University. Such a demand should be sent to the President and General Secretary
who will convene the meeting with a 24 hours notice within 48 hours (excluding holidays) of receiving
such a demand.
(iii) The Quorum for such meetings shall be 1/8 of the full-time students and for decisions on
extraordinary matters, the Quorum shall be 1/6 of the full-time students.
(iv) Procedures for the conduct of General Bodies shall be governed by Appendix 2 of the constitution.

Article 11. Decisions of General Bodies

(i) All ordinary decisions are to be taken by a simple majority present and voting.
(ii) Decisions regarding extraordinary matters have to be taken EITHER by 2/3 majority of the students
Council and decided by 2/3 of the schools in their GBMs by a simple majority present and voting in
each. This 2/3 of the schools shall include at least 2/3 of schools having 6 councillors each. In case of
deadlock among the schools the matter shall be decided by the UGBM whose decision will be binding.
OR
a. In the case of programme of simple direct action, by a simple majority of an extraordinary
UGBM; in cases involving prolonged direct action, deemed as such by 2/3 present and voting
in the Students Council, by 2/3 of an extraordinary UGBM.
 b. In the case of constitutional amendments, by 2/3 of an extraordinary UGBM. (to be read with
Arts. 1 (viii) and 10 (i) ).

Article 12. Finance

(i) Accounts of the Union will be maintained in the name of the President and General Secretary jointly
and they will jointly operate the accounts.
(ii) The President will present annual budget within four weeks to the students council for approval.
The procedures for budgeting the finance shall be decided by the students council by two thirds majority
of the students council present and voting and presented to the General Body.
(iii) A supplementary budget may be presented by the President when the need is felt, but subject to
approval of two-third majority of the Students Council present and voting.
(iv) A sub-committee will be elected with one member from each School General Body to carry out the
auditing of expenditure of the Union finances at the end of its term. The sub-committee after auditing
the Income and Expenditure of the Union will present its report to the General Bodies before the end of
the term of the Council.

PART IV
PROCEDURES AND TENURE

Article 13. Elections

(i) The election for new office-bearers of the Union should be held not later than three months from the
date of opening of the University after the summer vacation.
(ii) A school will be entitled to have a strength of 6 council members of the Students Council when it
comes to have a strength of more than 2000 full-time students. However, all schools with a strength of
less than 2000 and more than 50 will have a strength of council members as follows:
School having strength of students :-
50 – 100 = 1 Councillor
101 – 200 = 2 Councillors
201 – 400 = 3 Councillors
401 – 1000 = 4 Councillors
1001 – 2000 = 5 Councillors
(iii) All the part-time students of the University will constitute a separate constituency to elect a
minimum of 1 and a maximum of 2 student councillors from among themselves. Representation would
be governed by the ratio 1 : 500 or part thereof subject to a maximum of 2.
(iv) Each full-time student as defined in this constitution shall have a vote each for the election of office-
bearers (President, Vice-President, General Secretary and Joint Secretary) from amongst the full-time
students and one vote to one candidate to elect a maximum of six councillors.
(v) The voting will be by secret ballot, one person having one vote for each post of office bearers.
(vi) Each full-time student shall vote to elect student councillors only in that school in which he/she is
enrolled. All part-time students of University vote to elect their student councillor/ councillors under
the provisions of Article 13 clause (iii).
(vii) The candidate obtaining the highest number of votes polled will be declared elected, subject to
clause (ii) above in the case of election of councillors. In case of a tie, there shall be a re-election.
(viii) All full-time students of the University shall be eligible to contest for the post of either the
President, or Vice-President, or General Secretary or Joint Secretary or student councillor from their
respective constituency.
(ix) All part-time students are eligible to contest for the post of student councillor from the part-time
constituency.
(x) No member of the student council can contest elections unless he/she resigns from his/her
post.

Article 14. Tenure

(i) The tenure of office-bearers of the student council and student councillors will be one year.
(ii) In the event of the impossibility of holding of elections within the above specified period because
of reasons beyond the control of the Students Union/ Election Committee, the existing students council
and the office bearers will continue in their positions, until the elections can be held in accordance with
the procedure specified. However, the time limit for the continuation of the existing will be fixed by
University General Body.
(iii) (a) In the event of the office of President falling vacant before the expiry of the tenure, the Vice-
President will officiate as the President for an interim period of one month, within which a regular by-
election will be conducted to fill up the vacancy unless general elections are scheduled within three
months. Notwithstanding this, the interim President can continue to hold office if the regular elections
to the Students Union are not possible for reasons beyond the control of the Students Union. This clause
is subject to the provision of Article 14 clause (ii).
(b) In the event of the office of the General Secretary falling vacant before the expiry of the term, the
Joint Secretary will officiate as the General Secretary for an interim period of one month, within which
a regular by-election will be conducted to fill up the vacancy unless general elections are scheduled
within three months. Notwithstanding this, the interim General Secretary can continue to hold office if
the regular elections to the Students Union are not possible for reasons beyond the control of the
Students Union.
This clause is subject to the provisions of Article 14 clause (ii).
(c) In the event of the office of the Vice-President/ Joint Secretary falling vacant before the expiry of
the term, it will be occupied by a person elected from amongst the student councillors for an interim
period of one month within which regular by-election must be held unless general elections are
scheduled within three months. Notwithstanding this, the interim Vice-President/ Joint Secretary can
continue to hold office if the regular elections cannot be held because of reasons beyond the control of
the Students Union. This clause is subject to the provisions of Article 14 clause (ii).
(d) In the event of a councillor post falling vacant before the expiry of the term, a by-election to fill up
that vacancy shall be held within one month unless general elections are scheduled within three months.

Article 15. Impeachment/ No-confidence

(i) A motion of impeachment may be brought against any of the office bearers of the Union by at least
one-half of the total membership of the council and shall be decided upon by 2/3 majority of the council
and 2/3 majority of an extraordinary UGBM.
(ii) A motion of no-confidence against any of the student councillors can be moved by at least one-tenth
of the members of General Body. It will have to be passed by a two-third majority present and voting
at a duly convened School General Body Meeting. Once a student councillor is removed, a copy of the
decision must be sent to the President in council.
(iii) A motion of no-confidence against the office bearers/ Students Council as a whole can be moved
by at least 1/ 10 of the members of the University General Body. It will have to be passed by a 2/3
majority present and voting at a duly convened General Body Meeting.
(iv) Impeachment/ No-confidence notice must be given seven days in advance.

Article 16. Resignations

(i) Any letter of resignation of a directly-elected office bearer(s) must be addressed not to the Students
Council but to the GBM. It may however be handed over to the President or Chairman of any meeting
of the Council of session.
(ii) A resignation letter from a student councillor should be addressed to the General Body of the school
concerned and can be handed over in person to any other student councillor from the school concerned.
A copy of this must be submitted to the President of the Council. In the interim period till the filling of
the vacancy, the student councillor may be asked to continue.
(iii) In the event of the whole Student Council, the office bearers and student councillors will continue
to perform care-taker role until the mid-term or general elections to all the posts are conducted.

Article 17. Motion of confidence

A motion of confidence may be presented by an office-bearer/ student councillor to the University

Article 18. Election Committee

(i) There shall be Election Committee consisting of as many full-time students from each school as
needed but not exceeding as many persons as there are councillors from each school to conduct elections
of the office-bearers and the councillors.
(ii) Rules and procedures of Student Union Elections are laid down in Appendix 1.
(iii) Every member of this Committee must have the approval of 2/3 of the students council and this
panel must be presented by the student council to the General Bodies of each school for approval of the
respective members from each school.
(iv) No member of the Students Council is eligible for the membership of this committee.

Article 19. Interim Elections

(i) In case of interim elections for office bearers an Election Committee should be constituted as
specified in Article 18.
(ii) In case of interim elections for councillors the remaining student councillors of the school along
with a nominee of Students Council will supervise elections.
 APPENDIX 1
RULES AND PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING STUDENTS UNION ELECTION

Part 1
(i) The elections for the new office bearers of the Union should be held not later than three months from
the date of opening of the University after the summer vacations.
(ii) Provided in the case of a mid-term poll for office bearer, it shall be held within one month of the
post falling vacant.

Part 2
(i) After the General Bodies elect the members of the Election Committee, the President of the Students
Union will convene a meeting of the Election Committee.
(ii) At this meeting, the Election Committee members will elect a chairman from amongst themselves,
if necessary by an absolute majority.
(iii) The Chairman shall convene the meetings of the Election Committee and co-ordinate its work.
(iv) The Election Committee should hold the elections within 4 weeks of its first formal meeting as a
Committee. For purposes of counting the 4 week period, extraordinary holidays shall not be taken into
consideration.
(v) The Quorum for the Election Committee meetings will be half of its total members and all decisions
will be by simple majority.
(vi) In all schools, the supervisory team must include members from other schools.
(vii) In the event of any vacancy or in the eventuality of any need for extra assistance, the Chairman
may co-opt any full-time student who shall not have any vote in the Committee.
(viii) The Election Committee shall have total powers as far as the conduct of the elections are
concerned. This shall include the disqualifying of candidates from contesting and of the voters from
voting, provided that they take such a decision by a 2/3 majority present and voting and give reasons
for the same.
(ix) All decisions of the Election Committee are final and binding on the students.

Part 3
The Election Committee will work within the purview of following the rules and procedure:
(i) All voting will be by secret ballot.
(ii) Ballot papers: Names of the candidates will be in English in alphabetical order, the first name of the
candidate (not surname) appearing first.
(iii) Voters will mark the ballot paper against the name of the candidates with the rubber stamp provided
by the Election Committee.
(iv) Nomination:
a. Nominations shall be accepted in the prescribed proforma. They have to be duly proposed and
seconded by students belonging to the concerned electorate.
b. Nominations shall be invalidated when the name of the proposer, seconder or the candidate
does not figure in the appropriate electoral list or when the proposer or the seconder proposes
or seconds more than the number of candidates that he is entitled to vote for.
c. A student is eligible to stand only for one post. In the event of a candidate filing in nominations
for more than one post after the date of withdrawal his nominations to all posts shall be
invalidated.
(v) Counting:
a. Counting shall begin on the same date as the polling has ended.
 b. All ballot papers while being counted, must be displayed to the candidates or a person
authorised by the candidate.
c. A Ballot shall be invalidated when it has been marked by a mark other than the stamp
provided by the Committee, when the number of votes cast is more than the number of
posts for which the elections are held and when the choice expressed in vague.
d. Objection to any vote must be made on the spot at the time of counting by the authorised
counting agent of the candidate concerned.
e. Recount: Demand for recount by the authorised counting agent of the candidate
concerned should be made immediately after the first counting in writing. If the demand
is accepted by the Election Committee, the recount will be conducted immediately and
a maximum of two recounts will be held.
f. The Election Committee shall stand dissolved on the expiry of 48 hours from the
declaration of results.
g. Members of the Election Committee are barred from contesting any post in the Union
and are forbidden from canvassing in any form for any candidate.

Part 4
(i) No candidate or voter shall indulge in any official canvassing or pamphleteering during the 24 hours
prior to the commencement of polling.
(ii) Candidates and voters are expected to abide by the norms of decent canvassing. Personal slanders
and defacing, tearing and pulling down of posters may result in disciplinary action by the Committee
which can include the disqualification of the candidate and the disenfranchisement of the voters,
provided that they take such a decision by 2/3 majority present and voting and give reasons for the
same.

APPENDIX NO. 2
PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF
GENERAL BODY MEETING

1. The President will chair the University General Body Meeting. In the Absence of the President, the
Vice-President and in the absence of both, a Chairman elected by the Councillors from among
themselves shall chair the meeting. At the School General Body Meeting the convenor shall chair the
meeting.
2.
i. The General Secretary shall take the quorum and write the minutes and in his absence, the Joint
Secretary will perform this task.
ii. The Councillors shall assist the General Secretary in taking the quorum.
iii. In the absence of the General Secretary and the Joint Secretary, the Councillors shall elect from
among themselves one Councillor to discharge these duties. At the School level one among the
Councillors shall perform these duties.
3. The Chairman shall open the meeting and announce the items of the agenda, which must be made
public at the time of notification of the GBM.
4. (i) All requests for addition of items to the agenda shall be given to the Chair in writing and supported
by 1/10 of the members of the general body present at the opening of the meeting. (ii) Such additions
to the agenda shall be put to discussion after all the items initially on the agenda have been resolved
through common consensus or voting. Any change in the priority of the agenda can be moved by half
the quorum of the meeting and passed by a simple majority immediately after the opening of the
meeting. All such motions may be moved only once and discussed and voted upon simultaneously.
(iv) In case all items on the agenda have not been resolved, the adjourned meeting shall be reconvened
within 48 hours of the adjournment of the meeting excluding holidays.
5.
i. All points of order shall be raised with Chair in writing. The Chair shall read out all points of
order and give his ruling assigning reasons for the same. The ruling of the chair shall be final
and binding. Once a point of order is ruled upon, it cannot be raised again.
ii. It shall be left to the discretion of the Chair whether to immediately stop the discussion and
read out the point of order and give his ruling or whether to do so after the speaker who is
speaking at the moment has finished.
6. Once the meeting has been called to order by the Chair, he shall decide and announce a fixed time
limit within which all persons who wish to speak may submit their names in writing. At the expiry of
the specified time limit, the final list of speakers will be announced and strictly adhered to.
7. On the basis of the number of speakers, the Chair will specify time limit for speeches which shall be
binding. The General Secretary shall keep the time.
8. No person other than councillors may come up to the dais unless called by the Chair.
9. Voting shall be either by voice vote, show of hands, count of heads or secret ballot. The Council shall
decide before hand on the particular mode to adopt. As regards voting, the Chairman after taking the
vote with the help of the General Secretary and the Councillors will declare the result of the voting.
10. All objections and interjections may only be raised in writing with the Chair and the Chair shall use
its discretionary powers whether to read out and further whether to disallow it or to put it to discussion
assigning reasons for the same.
11. All points of order, names of speakers etc, shall be collected by the councillors and handed over to
the Chair.
12. The Students Council shall, using its discretionary powers, decide upon the duration of the meeting
and leave it to the Chair to announce the time of voting.
13. Under normal circumstances, the meeting may be adjourned by the Chair only for a short duration.
The Chair can exercise its right to adjourn the meeting sine die under exceptional circumstances. Fresh
quorum shall be taken for all adjourned meeting.

APPENDIX NO. 3
RULES AND PROCEDURE FOR THE SELECTION TO GENDER SENSITISATION
COMMITTEE AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT (GSCASH)

1. The JNUSU representative to the GSCASH shall be elected from within the council for one term.
2. Elections for the four student representatives to the GSCASH shall be conducted by the Election
Commission as specified in the GSCASH Rules and Procedures, 2015.
3. At least two of the four student representatives shall be women.
4. The member specially elected to the GSCASH will have no voting rights in the Council. Their
participation in the Students Council will be restricted to discussions regarding gender issues.
5. The tenure of the student representatives will be one year.
6. In the event of the impossibility of holding elections within the specified period for reasons beyond
the control of the Election Committee, the existing representatives will continue in their positions until
elections can be held in accordance with the procedure specified. However, the time limit for the
continuance of the existing members will be fixed by University General Body.
7. In the event of either one or more posts falling vacant before the expiry of the tenure, the Students
Council shall elect representatives for an interim period till elections are held for these posts.
8. A motion of impeachment of no-confidence against any of the student representatives can be brought
in accordance with Article 15.
9. Any resignations by the representatives will be according to the procedure in Article 16.