MRS. MEENA Y. TARKAS Vs. UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition raises an interesting question. The facts are briefly these. The petitioner Mrs. Meena Y. Tarkas, is a graduate of the S. N.D.T. Women's University, Bombay. She took the G. A. Degree in that University in 1946 -47. She came to Madras in 1947 and was appointed as the Head -mistress of the Gujarati Vidhya Mandir in 1952. Her employers wanted her to get B.T. degree so that she might be confirmed as Head -mistress. She applied for admission to the St. Christopher Training College, Vepery, Madras, in 1956 to the B. T. class. Under the rules of the University of Madras, and of the above college, which was affiliated to it, she had to submit the original diploma relating to the degree taken by her, the migration certificate from the Registrar of the University which conferred the degree, and the duration certificate from the Principal of the College where she underwent the degree course, on the first day of the admission to the College to enable the Principal to send the same to the University for confirmation. She submitted the above documents, and the Principal of the St. Christopher College then wanted her to produce proof that the degree obtained by her was recognisable by the University of Madras. At the instance of the Principal she obtained a letter from the Inter University Board to the effect that the degree of the S.N.D.T. Women's University, Bombay were eligible to be recognised by all the other Universities in India. She was then admitted to the B. T. Course. She was also allowed to take part in the practical examination of the B.T. in February, 1957. Subsequently a hall ticket with Register No. 1370 was issued to her entitling her to sit for the written examination of the B.T. beginning from 2nd April, 1957. When she was preparing to sit for the examination as per the hall ticket, suddenly on 29th March, 1957, the Principal of her College dropped a bomb shell by phoning to her that, as per the instructions received from the Deputy Registrar of the Madras University, she could not be permitted to sit for the B. T. examination commencing from 2nd April, 1957 as the qualifying examination passed by her, namely the G. A. Degree examination S.N.D. T. Women's University, was not recognised by the Madras University for the purpose of taking the B.T. degree. She was directed to return the hall ticket. In spite of her frantic efforts to get the authorities to reconsider that decision, and to allow her to sit for the examination, and in spite of her producing a very good certificate from the Principal of her College regarding her experience as a teacher, bright and pleasant manner, great industry, phenomenal love of children, and fund of original ideas, the University authorities would not relent. She could not sit for the B.T. examination in April, 1957. She wanted permission at least to sit for the September examination. She also applied for individual exemption, waiving the rigour of the rules. The Vice Chancellor regretted his inability to grant her individual exemption to sit for the B.T. examination on 19th April, 1957, and refused to reconsider the order. She then filed this writ petition.

(2.) ALONG with it she filed C.M.P. No. 4306 of 1957. Rajagopalan, J., as he then was, permitted the petitioner to apply to the University to sit for the B. T. examination in September. In C.M.P. No. 6189 of 1957, Rajagopala Ayyangar, J., directed the issue of a hall ticket to her by the University for sitting for the 1957, September examination, and directed her results to be withheld till the final orders in this writ petition, leaving all the contentions of the parties intact. She has accordingly sat for the examination in September, 1957, but the results have not come out, let alone her particular result directed to be withheld till the disposal of this petition.

(3.) THE second was that the degrees of S.N.D.T. Women's University, having been recognised by the Inter University Board, should have been recognised by the Madras University for the purpose of the B. T. examination. I cannot agree. The Madras University is an autonomous body, and the discretion given to it to recognise degrees of certain Universities and to refuse recognition of degrees of certain other Universities cannot be interfered with by Courts. I need not therefore consider Mr. Chengalvaroyan's contention that the G.A. course in the S.N.D.T. Women's University is simpler and less onerous, than the Madras University's and that the recognition of the S.N.D.T. Women's University degrees by the Inter -University Board is not as complete as contended by Mr. Sivaswami.