MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY Vs. LAKSHMI VENUGOPALAN AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is filed by the 1st respondent in W.P.C. No. 2237/2007 challenging judgment dated 17/10/2012 of the learned Single Judge. The learned Single Judge, by the impugned judgment, did not go into the merits of the contentions urged by the parties and directed that the result of the petitioners be published within two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment.

(2.) THE short facts involved in the above writ petition would disclose that the respondents 1 and 2 herein (hereinafter referred to as the 'petitioners') had obtained admission in the College of 2nd respondent for M.B.A Degree course. Admission was obtained on the basis of an entrance examination conducted by All India Management Association (AIMA) on 02/12/2005. The basic qualification required for the course among other qualifications was a graduate Degree in Commerce with 50% marks. Petitioners passed B.Com (Distance Education) conducted by the Bharathiar University, Coimbatore in the year 2006. While so, at the time when the examinations were to be held, the appellant university raised an objection stating that the B.Com Degree awarded by the School of Distance Education of Bharathiar University is not recognised by the appellant. Petitioners filed a representation as Ext.P6 to the University, but, thereafter no action was taken in the matter and ultimately writ petition was filed seeking to quash Exts.P7, P8, P9 and P10 and for a direction to the appellant to issue eligibility certificate to the petitioners for admission to MBA course of study for the year 2006 -2009 in the second respondent College and for compelling the appellant to accept the examination fee from the petitioners and to permit them to appear for the first semester examination. The learned Single Judge passed an interim order stating that since the degree obtained by the petitioners is accepted as sufficient qualification for admission for MBA by Calicut University and Cochin University, respondents were directed to accept the examination fee from the petitioners for writing the first semester examination and to attend the classes.

(3.) THE learned Single Judge, however, without going into the merits of the contentions urged, directed the result to be published. The learned counsel for the appellant submits that since the course conducted by Bharathiar University under Distance Education Programme is not recognised by the appellant University, the Court should not have issued the direction to publish the results without having considered the matter on merits. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the writ petitioners submits that the course conducted by Bharathiar University is accepted by Calicut University as well as Cochin University as equivalent to the Degree course which is eligible for admission to MBA course. That apart, petitioners have also passed AIMA test conducted on an all India basis. Reference is also made to the judgment of the learned Single Judge of this Court in Sangeetha Roy v. The Mahatma Gandhi University in W.P.C. No. 11854/2005 as well as the judgment of this Court in Thomas M. Koshy v. Commissioner for Entrance Examination [ : 2013(2) KLT 770]. Further reference is also made to the judgment of another learned Single Judge in a batch of cases in Radhika Mohan v. Vice Chancellor Mahatma Gandhi University [W.P.C. No. 29351/2005 and connected cases). On the basis of the aforesaid judgments, it is submitted that when a test is being conducted on an all India basis and several Universities in State of Kerala and other parts of the country have accepted the B.Com Degree course (Distance Education) conducted by the Bharathiar University as equivalent to the Degree Course, a particular University alone cannot differentiate the same as it will amount to discrimination to the candidates. Under such circumstances, it is submitted that the Academic Council should not have rejected the equivalence of the course to that of the B.Com Degree course approved by the M.G. University.