AMIT KUMAR Vs. DELHI UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner took admission in the LLB course of Delhi University in the year 2007 -08. The petitioner, according to his counsel, cleared the first year of the said course in the year 2007 -08. The petitioner, however, could not qualify in some of the papers in second year of the course in the year 2008 -09 and he was able to clear all the papers of the second year of the course only in the academic year 2012 - 2013. The petitioner sought admission in the third year of the course in the academic year 2013 -14. The application of the petitioner in this regard, addressed to the Professor -in -Charge, Campus Law Centre, was allowed on 16.09.2013 with a fine of Rs 100/ -. As would be evident from the application, which was allowed by the Professor -in -Charge on 16.09.2013, the petitioner did not disclose in the said application that he had already completed six years of the course in the year 2012 -13. However, the petitioner has not been allowed to attend classes for the 5th semester and the examination for the said semester is scheduled to be held from 28.11.2013. The University has declined to permit him to attend the classes and appear in the examination for the 05 th semester on the ground that he was required to complete the studies in LLB course within a span of six years as per the rules of the University. The case of the petitioner, however, is that a number of other students, who could not complete the course within a span of six years, were allowed by the University to appear in examinations and, therefore, he is being discriminated in this regard.

(2.) MR Rupal, who appears for the University, has today filed a counter -affidavit on behalf of the University and the Registrar of the University is also present in the Court. A perusal of the counter - affidavit would show that as per Appendix II of Ordinance V of the University of Delhi, a candidate taking admission in the LLB course is required to complete the course within a span of six years from the date of admission to the first year of the course. The petitioner in WP (C) No.7177/2013 having taken admission in the year 2007 -08, according to the University, is not eligible to take admission in the third year of the course and consequently, allowed to appear in the examination for the 5th and subsequent semester.

(3.) THE University, in order to mitigate the hardship of the students who claimed to have been taken by surprise on account of the University all of a sudden coming out with the notification dated 10.10.2012, decided that as a purely one time measure, the students to permit submit their application for grant of special chance to enable them to appear in their backlog papers with the specific recommendations of the Principals of their respective Colleges/Heads of Departments, latest by 05.04.2013, for consideration of the Competent Authority. The learned counsel for the petitioner in WP (C) No.7177/2013 states that the petitioner could not have availed benefit of the said notification dated 14.03.2013 since he had not completed six years of the studies by that time and the petitioner at that time was studying in the 4th semester of the course.