We, the students of St Joseph’s College, North Point, Darjeeling:

Emerging from diverse cultural, religious, political and economic backgrounds; Conscious of the historical disparities within the society; Committed to unite and build a non-racial, nondiscriminatory and democratic society; Recognising the central role played by students in preparing to serve our community; Determined to instil and nurture a culture of learning, research, tolerance and understanding in the education terrain; Conscious of our civil duty as the student community and members of our society as a whole, hereby resolve that the Students’ Council of the college acting as a primary body on all issues of Student Welfare and participation, seeks to:

• Promote principles that embrace the notions of democratic practice, representation and consensus building in all student structures;
• Embrace the vision, mission and strategic plan of the college through, among other things, the development of plans and goals by the Students’ Council;
• Embrace the Code of conduct of the College, and, more particularly, those pertaining to the value system;
• Respect differences that arise due to socio-economic status, race and gender, and adhere to the principles of proportionality;

Uphold principles of transparency, accountability, responsiveness and broad participation of the student community,
Thus confirming that The Students’ Council is committed to exemplary student leadership on defining the qualities of a good citizen and a human person for others adhering to the educational values of St Ignatius and to uphold the college motto of ‘SURSUM CORDA’ in both our college and private lives, do hereby adopt this constitution.

• COUNCIL means the St Joseph’s College Students’ Representative Council;
• MEMBER in relation to the council, means a member of the Council;
• PRINCIPAL means the person to whom the administration and control of the College is
• committed;
• COLLEGE means the St Joseph’s College, North Point, Darjeeling;
• COLLEGE COMMUNITY means the teaching and non-teaching staff, students, College
• Alumni and other persons (including parents) who have direct and/or involvement or an interest in the college;
• STUDENTS’ COUNCIL or SC means the recognised representative body of students enrolled at the College;
• TEACHING STAFF means the body of professional teachers appointed from time to time to the College;
• AOB means Any Other Business, which shall be discussed only on completion of the deliberation on other items included in the list of agenda for the specified meeting.

1. There shall be a Students' Council of St Joseph’s College, North Point, Darjeeling.
2. The Representative Body of the students of St Joseph’s College, North Point, Darjeeling, shall be called the St Joseph’s College Students’ e Council, abbreviated hereinafter as the SJC-SC.
3. The SJC- SC shall be a representative organization of students within the College, deriving its status from the College Rules and Regulations, and shall be subject to the Rules, Statutes and managerial and/or administrative arrangements of the College.
4. The SJC-SC shall not be an independent body with its own legal statutes.

• To co-ordinate all clubs, societies and social activities for students of the college by way of embodying constituent clubs, societies and groups, under the supervision of the teacher coordinator/dean.
• To act as an instrument to develop the student's potential at all levels, and to offer the students a free arena to perform their creative talents.
• To develop competitive spirit in a healthy way and to inculcate in them a cooperative team spirit so as to mould them into a multifaceted personality.
• To promote communication between students and staff of the College
• To undertake such charitable and representative activities which properly fall within the College rules, regulations and statutes
• These aims shall be pursued without regard to: age, colour, disability, ethnic origin, gender, health status, marital status, nationality, parental status, race, sexual orientation, religious and political beliefs and affiliation, or discrimination on any other grounds. All discrimination shall be actively discouraged. The SJCSC shall be independent of any political party or religious body.

1. Two (2) Councillors, One Male and One Female, (Arts), elected by the Class Representatives of the Faculty of Arts at the undergraduate level;
2. Two (2) Councillors (Science), One Male and One Female, elected by the Class Representatives of the Faculty of Science at the undergraduate level;
3. Two (2) Councillors (Commerce), One Male and One Female, elected by the Class Representatives of the Faculty of Commerce at the undergraduate level;
4. Two (2) Councillors, One Male and One Female, of Self Financed Departments (BBA and BCA combined), elected by the Class Representatives of the Self Financed Departments at the undergraduate level;
5. Two (2) Councillors, One Male and One Female, of the PG Department of English, elected by the Class Representatives of the PG
   Department of English;
6. Three Ex-officio member Councillors (one- Student Coordinator/SUO of the NCC, one Student Coordinator of the NSS volunteers of the
   college, and one- Student coordinator of the college wing of the AICUF, by virtue of being the student coordinators of the NCC, NSS
   and the AICUF, they automatically become the ex-officio member councillors); and
7. One Nominated member Councillor, nominated by the College Management. The College Management in this regard shall be represented by a team of 5 (Five) members comprising of the Vice Principal (Academic), Dean of Students, Secretary of the Teachers’ Council, and a Secretary of the Non-Teaching Staff of the College, and the outgoing Head Councillor of the SJC-SC, headed by the Vice Principal (Academic) who shall, in the way and manner they deemappropriate, shall nominate the student representative to the Council.

III. The SJC-SC shall be headed by a Head Councillor, assisted by an Assistant Head Councillor. The Head Councillor and the Assistant Head Councillor shall be elected from amongst the thirteen Members of the SJC-SC, through a secret ballot.
IV. At least 33 % of the seats in the Council shall be reserved for Women Representatives.
V. The nature and structure of the composition of the Council may be altered, if and when deemed necessary by amending the provisions of the constitution to that effect, in accordance with the procedure laid down for the amendment of the constitution.

1. The SJC-SC shall have three (3) types of Membership: Affiliate Membership, Associate Membership and Core Membership
2. All students admitted to any of the faculties of the college, irrespective of any discrimination as mentioned in Article 3 Section VII shall, by virtue of being a student of the college, automatically becomes an affiliate member of the SJCSRC.
3. All Class Representatives shall be designated as the Associate Members of the SJC-SRC
4. The 13 (Thirteen) Councillors referred to in Article 4 Sections I, II, and III shall be designated as the Core members of the SJC-SC
5. For all intends and purposes, unless otherwise specified, the SJC SC would mean the Council of the Core members, specified under Article 5, Section 4. of the present Constitution.

1. Elections to the SJC-SRC shall be done in two phases: first, the election of the Class Representatives; and second, the Class Representatives of each faculty shall in turn elect their respective Faculty Councillors of the Faculty concerned. However, a first year student cannot be elected as a councillor from any faculty.
2. Each Class shall have 2 (two) Class Representatives, a male and a female.
3. Each representative shall be proposed and seconded and shall be elected by ballot of those present.
4. There shall be no absentee proxy voting in the election of the Class Representatives or the election of the Councillors.

1. All the Class Representatives and Councillors shall, on being elected/nominated/appointed to the SJC SRC, take an oath of office, in a ceremony held for the purpose.
2. The Oath Taking Ceremony shall be a College Function, attended by the Students, the Principal and other members of the College Administration, Members of the College Governing Body, the teaching staff and the non teaching staff of the college, and the members of the College Alumni Association.
3. The Oath of office of all Councillors shall be administered by the Principal of St. Joseph’s College.
4. In absence of the Principal, the Vice-Principal (Academic) shall administer the oath of office of the Faculty Councillors.

• Elected members shall serve from the time of their election until the end of the academic year in which they are appointed, unless of their own volition, they find it necessary to withdraw from the post or are removed from office.
• All Councillors are directly responsible to their Constituencies for all their acts of omissions and commissions.
• If any Class Representative or the Councillor is found to be indulging in any activity detrimental to the mission, vision and interest of the college, and if such an act is endorsed by the College Disciplinary Committee after needful investigation, such member (Class representative or Councillor) shall be removed from the concerned office with immediate effect by the head of the institution.
• Abstention from two consecutive Council meetings by a Class Representative/Councillor without a reason valid enough and convincing to the Head Faculty Councillors shall be a sufficient reason for a show cause wherein the absenting class representative or faculty councillor shall be asked to explain such abstention to the House in a meeting called for the purpose.
• Failing to provide a satisfactory justification to the said abstention may lead to the expulsion of the Councillor or the Class Representative from the office.
• Where this vacancy occurs, a replacement representative shall be elected following the procedure at Articles 5 and/or 6, as appropriate.

I. The following shall constitute the essential qualifications of the candidates for being eligible to be a member of the Students’ Council:

• Must be a regular student of the college
• Must be a person of integrity, whose conduct has earned for him/her respect of the community- academic as well as social.
• Must have initiative, a sense of responsibility, ability to communicate with clarity and efficiency, and a strong sense of dedication towards the institution
• Must have a thorough knowledge of the aims, objectives, vision and mission of the College and imbued with the spirit of the College and its motto.
• Must have the knowledge of challenges facing the students’ community in the social order that is dynamic and fast changing and the opportunities for their fullest development therein.

II. Other such qualifications that may be deemed necessary from time to time, may be prescribed for the Associate and Core members, by amending the constitution vide Article 13 of the Constitution.

1. Ordinarily, the Council shall meet once every 15 days to deliberate on issues
2. Extraordinary meetings shall be called as and when some emergent issues need immediate attention. However, such meetings shall be called on a notice of not less than 24 hours
3. A clear agenda before the meeting is scheduled shall be mandatory.
4. Each meeting shall endorse the minutes of the previous meeting, discuss the issues outlined in the list of the agenda, and deliberate on AOB.
5. Before convening a meeting, a communication of the agenda to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Council shall be mandatory, who may, by virtue of being the CEO of the Council, if deemed necessary, alter and/ or amend the contents of the agenda or approve it for deliberation.
6. All deliberations shall be minuted in detail in a register maintained for the purpose.
7. Quorum for such meetings or deliberations shall be a simple majority of the total members of the Council.
8. No decision shall be taken by less than a simple majority of the members present and voting.

The SJC SC being responsible for promoting the interest, mission, and vision of the college in general and the welfare of the student community of the college in particular, shall exercise the following powers and functions:

1. To appoint Student Coordinators to College Committees, Clubs and Forums which include Games and Sports Committee, Cultural Committee, Disciplinary Committee, Anti-ragging Committee, Library Committee, Career Guidance and Placement Cell, among others.
2. To coordinate the involvement and participation of the students in various student activities.
3. To act as a link between the students and the teaching and non-teaching staff of the college
4. To organise and coordinate programmes and activities like the Freshers’ Welcome, Farewell, Cultural Programmes, and other such programmes and activities as may be apprised of by the college administration from time to time under he supervision of the concerned teacher coordinator.
5. To foster a sense of belonging to the college and to promote discipline, value and morals among the student community to enable them to be men and women for others
6. To create an enabling environment in the college for students’ participation and all round development, preparing them for the challenging social order in future.
7. All such other functions and activities as may be entrusted to the council in good faith from time to time by the college administration.

1. There shall be a Patron of the SJC SC who would provide appropriate supervision, guidance and expertise to the working of the Council
2. Fr. Superior of St Joseph’s College, North Point, Darjeeling, shall be the Patron of the SJC-SC.
3. The Dean of Students shall, by virtue of holding the said office, be the CEO of the SJC SC
4. The Dean of Students (the CEO of the SJC SC) shall be provided prior information pertaining to the date, time, venue and agenda of all meetings, deliberations and discussions of the SJC SC.
5. The CEO shall be provided with a detailed report of such meetings, discussions and deliberations within not more than three days of such meeting or deliberation
6. All information pertaining to the college and its activities required by the SJC SC in its working towards the welfare of the students and the college as a whole, shall be provided to the Council by the CEO
7. The CEO shall act as a bridge between the Council on the one hand, and, the Patron of the SJC-SC, College Administration, the teaching staff and the nonteaching staff on the other.
8. The Patron, in consultation with the Principal, has the power to restructure or dissolve the Student Council if the patron is satisfied with the reasons necessitating such a restructuration or dissolution of the Council.

1. Any other provision not stipulated in any part of the constitution shall be incorporated in to the constitution by suitable amendments to the constitution as and when the need arises. 
2. Any dispute arising on any issues pertaining to the SJC-SRC shall fall exclusively under the Jurisdiction of the Governing Body of the College, whose decision shall be final and binding.