AVANISH KUMAR MISHRA Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -Heard Sri Ram Krishna Mishra on behalf of the petitioner, standing counsel on behalf of respondent No. 1 and Sri Anil Tiwari on behalf of respondents 2 and 3.

(2.) THE petitioner, after obtaining degree of graduation applies as a candidate in the entrance examination for B.Ed. 2003-04 conducted by Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur. According to the advertisement the last date for submission of the application was 16.4.2003. In the rules framed by the University for regulating admission to B.Ed. course under clause 12 it was mentioned that along with the form the candidate shall also enclose copy of the certificate on the basis whereof he is seeking benefit of weightage marks. In clause '19 Anga' it was provided that the wards of teachers of the institution will be entitled to weightage of 15 marks subject to the condition that the certificate of being the ward of a teacher must be countersigned by the District Inspector of Schools/ District/Basic Education Officer/ Regional Higher Education Officer/ Vice Chancellor/Director and that the certificate must not be more than six months old. According to the petitioner in compliance of the aforesaid clause he submitted his application complete in all respect as per the application proforma, enclosing therewith the certificate of his being ward of a teacher. THE said certificate was countersigned by the District Inspector of Schools and is dated 25.11.2002. THE last date prescribed under the rules for submission of the applications for entrance examination was 16.4.2003, it is apparently clear that the said certificate of being ward of a teacher was within the period of six months as was prescribed. THE petitioner was successful in the entrance examination and was entitled to the benefit of 15 weightage marks on the ground of his being the ward of a teacher. After declaration of the result the petitioner was issued a letter requiring him to report for counselling in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, respondent No. 2, on 14.3.2004. THE petitioner admittedly appeared for councilling on the date and time fixed, however, he was refused admission on the said date on the ground that the certificate produced by the petitioner in respect of his being a ward of a teacher was more than six months old. THE period of six months was counted backward from the date of counselling i.e. 14.3.2004. According to the petitioner the decision of respondents to refuse weightage of 15 marks to the petitioner on the ground that the certificate as produced by the petitioner at the time of counselling was more than six months old, is arbitrary and contrary to the stipulations mentioned in the regularizations for appearing in the entrance examination for B.Ed. as published by the University for the session 2003-04.

(3.) FROM the aforesaid conditions as provided by the University it is apparently clear that the candidate must enclose copy of the certificate on the basis whereof claims to be a ward of a teacher, along with the form, the last date whereof was fixed as 16.12.2003. Since the certificate of being a ward of a teacher was required to be enclosed with the application form it must necessarily be a valid certificate and therefore as per clause 19 (Anga) which provides that the certificate should not be more than 6 months old. This condition of six months necessarily refers to the last date of submission of the application forms. In view of the aforesaid the certificate which was required to be enclosed by the candidate for the purposes of claiming weightage marks must not be more than six month old counted backwards from the last date of submission of the application forms. It is needless to point out that the date of counselling is uncertain. On the basis of an uncertain date it cannot be said that the candidate must produce another certificate other than the one which was submitted at the time of submission of application form.