UNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN JAIPUR Vs. ROSHAN LAL SETH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent Roshan Lal Seth offered Economics as his subject for the M. A. Examination. A candidate may take the M. A. Examination either at the end of the two years' integrated course of study or he may appear first in the M. A. Previous Examination and then in the M. A.

(2.) The University is constituted under the University of Rajputana Act (hereinafter called the Act). The Act provides for the making of Ordinances and Regulations. The Ordiances are made by the syndicate under S. 29. The Regulations are made by the Academic Council under S. 31. The decision of the appeal turns on the construction of the following part of Regulation 12 :

(3.) The true meaning of this provision should be ascertained by reference to its language and context. Ordinance 210 provides that the examination for the degree of Master of Arts shall consist of two parts, namely, the Previous Examination and the Final Examination. Ordinance 212 provides that a candidate who, after passing the Previous M. A. Examination of the University has completed a regular course of study for one academic year in an affiliated college, shall be admitted to the Final Examination for the degree of Master of Arts. These Ordinances plainly show that if candidate takes the M. A. Examination in part, he has to appear not in one but in two examinations, the Previous Examination and the Final Examination. The language of Regulation 12 also leads to this very inference. The last part of the Regulation speaks of two examinations, the Previous and the Final. Having regard to this context and language, the first part of the above quoted Regulation may be split up in two parts in this manner: (1) "for M. A. Examination taken...at the end of the two years' integrated course of study, a candidate must obtain for a pass at least 36% of the aggregate in each subject"; and (2) for M. A. Examination taken.... in part, viz., Previous and Final, a candidate must obtain for a pass at least 36% of the aggregate marks in each subject." In the second part the M. A. Examination is not a single examination, but consists of two examinations, the Previous and the Final. So in the second part the phrase 'For M. A. Examination" really means "For M. A. Previous Examination and M. A. Final Examination." In the result a candidate should obtain at least 36% of the aggregate marks in all the papers in the M. A. Previous Examination as well as in the M. A. Final Examination separately. The total marks obtained in the Previous and Final Examinations cannot be added to make up 36% of the aggregate marks for getting a pass in M. A. But when a candidate passes both the parts after obtaining the minimum marks in each paper and 36% in aggregate, the aggregate marks of both the examinations, namely, previous and final, will be counted for a place in the pass list, that is to say, for placing him in the First Division, Second Division or Third Division.