A few days after a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court ordered St. Stephen’s College to provisionally admit six students aspiring to join Delhi University (DU), a division bench stepped in with a different direction. On Thursday, the division bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, ruled out these students from attending St. Stephen’s College. Instead, they were given the option to choose their second preference for admission.
This ruling came in response to an appeal filed by St. Stephen’s College. The college has been embroiled in a dispute with DU over its admission policy and sought to challenge the earlier order. The earlier decision was issued on August 23 by a single-judge bench led by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
She had instructed St. Stephen’s College to grant provisional admission to the six petitioners. Justice Sharma had also directed DU to reopen its portal for fee submission specifically for these six students. This would allow them to secure admission to their second-choice college if they were unsuccessful in their plea to join St. Stephen’s College.
Senior Advocate Romy Chacko, representing St. Stephen’s College, argued before the division bench on Thursday that the original petitioners could be allowed to remain in their second-choice colleges. Chacko pointed out that Delhi University (DU) had allocated more students attending St. Stephen’s College than the institution’s sanctioned capacity allows.
The college informed the court that its approved intake is 50 students. Of these, 25 seats are reserved for minority students, 5 are designated for other reserved categories, and the remaining 25 are for general category students. However, DU assigned 36 students to the general category seats, exceeding the allotted 25 seats.
Chacko argued that the university lacks the necessary infrastructure to handle the situation. He mentioned that the university has ordered the admission of all 36 students who were initially assigned to attend St. Stephen’s College. This decision, he pointed out, effectively ignores part of a single judge’s order. The judge had also instructed the university to open the portal, allowing these students to choose a second-preference college.
Acting Chief Justice Manmohan responded by voicing his concerns and asking why the university was creating so much turmoil. He underlined how the university’s actions impacted these students’ lives and careers. In addition, he asked the institution to observe their actions and expressed the hope that they would behave more appropriately from now on.
The parties concerned have been directed by the division bench to turn in their answers along with any additional required paperwork. Additionally, it decided that the pupils shouldn’t be permitted to attend St. Stephen’s College lessons. In addition, the bench moved up the case’s hearing, which was originally scheduled for September 11 by the lone judge, to September 4.
