GANDHI CHAILSHTORI MOHMOOD Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR KARNATAKA UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These six petitioners are Iranian citizens who were at the relevant time studying in Colleges affiliated to the Karnataka University, Dharwar. At the supplementary examinations held by that University for Science students in the month of November, 1985, the petitioners are said to have committed malpractices at the examinations, as a result of which, they were subjected to an enquiry by the Malpractices Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). It appears that the Committee submitted a report to the Vice Chancellor who had appointed that Committee and he in turn accepted the report of the Committee and issued an order thereafter imposing the punishment on the students of being debarred from taking five consecutive examinations of the University from the date of the order as well as cancelling their performance at the relevant examination in which they are said to have committed Malpractices. These facts are not in dispute.

(2.) Immediately on receipt of such order, the students have filed these Writ Petitions in this Court. Some lime earlier when these matters were heard by Rama Jois, J., the petitioners urged that they were Iranian citizens who could not stay indefinitely in India with uncertain future and if they returned to Iran, under the law said to be existing there, they were likely to be absorbed into compulsory military services jeopardising their educational career and therefore the Court should strike down the order as admittedly the Vice-Chancellor did not have jurisdiction under the Karnataka State Universities Act, 1976, (hereinafter referred to as the Act) to impose that punishment.

(3.) It would be useful at this stage to State that the University by then had entered appearance and resisted the contentions of the petitioners on the ground that the Vice-Chancellor was acting under powers conferred on him by Sub-section (5) of Section 12 of the Act. It was at that stage, Rama Jois, J., made an order on 18th April, 1985. It would be useful to extract para-4 of that order :