CHIRAG SHAILESH SHASTRI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, is an ex -student of the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology University ("CEPT" for short). He has filed this public interest litigation challenging the decision of the University of discontinuing the Master Program in Sustainable Development and Climate Change which was being run under the faculty of Sustainable Environment and Climate Change. In particular, the petitioner has questioned the legality of the decision of the Executive Council of the University dated 25.10.2012 where the said decision was taken.

(2.) THE petitioner himself was admitted in the said course in the year 2011. It was a two years course. The decision of the University thus came midway through the course which the petitioner was pursuing. As pointed out by the counsel for the University, the students who were already admitted were given the same degree under the same course, of -course, under a different faculty. In any case, the counsel for the petitioner clarified that the petitioner having completed the course and also having received the degree, insofar as the effect of the impugned decision on the petitioner is concerned, the issue is no longer relevant. He however, submitted that in the larger public interest, the petitioner questions the decision of the University to discontinue such course which according to the petitioner was extremely important and had the potential of drawing large number of students in future also.

(3.) ON the other hand, learned senior counsel Shri Soparkar for the CEPT university strongly opposed the petition raising the following contentions: