(1.) The petitioner took up admission in B.Sc.(Ag) Part I on 14-9-1984 in the Kulbhaskar Ashram Degree College in Allahabad, affiliated to the University of Kanpur and appeared in B.Sc.(Ag) Part I Examination with Roll No. 280 from the said college itself, which was a centre of examination. No degree of B.Sc.(Ag) could be awarded to any student unless he passed in General English Paper and, therefore, the petitioner appeared in the said paper when he took up the examination of B.Sc.(Ag) Part I. Sri K.C. Srivastava Principal of the aforesaid college was Centre Superintendent and there were several Invigilators, including Sri Kamal Srivastava in the room, where the seat was allotted to the petitioner. It is admitted that the marks awarded in General English Paper do not affect the merit of the students, but it is necessary to pass the said paper, because no degree could be awarded without having passed that paper. The scheme of the University is that if one fails in General English Paper in B.Sc. Part I, then he can appear in Part II in the said paper and if there is no success in General English Paper in Part II also, then one can take up last chance in Part III Examinations. The Principal of the aforesaid college being centre Superintendent reported to the Registrar, Kanpur University vide letter dated 17-7-1985 (Annexure-C.A. 1.) that in 15 answer-books of General English Paper, his signatures had been forged. A note was given at the foot of the said letter that the teachers of Agriculture Faculty refused to work due to indiscipline of the students on the date of examination. Thereupon, a charge sheet Annexure-1 to the writ petition was caused to be served on the petitioner by the University levelling a charge that his answer-books of General English Paper had been written at a place other than the place ear marked by the Centre. The Examination Committee whom the complaint of the Centre Superintendent, was referred to, concurred with the Centre Superintendent that 15 students whose answer-books of General English paper had been sent to the Registrar, were involved in having used unfair means, with the result, the result of the petitioner, inter alia, for the year 1985 was cancelled and he was debarred from appearing in Examination until 1986.
(2.) Aggrieved by the order (Annexure-C.A. 2), the petitioner has prayed for quashing of the said order in this petition and also prayed for issuing a mandamus directing the respondents to declare the result of B.Sc. (Ag) Part I Examination of the petitioner for the year 1985 which was cancelled. The petitioner denied having resorted to unfair means. It is contended by him that the answer-book was given to him in the room, allocated by the Centre, he did not move out of the room and he duly handed over the answer-book of General English Paper to the Invigilator; that no report was made by the Invigilator of unfair means having been used by the students and that there was no material on record to show that his answer-book had been written outside the Centre.
(3.) Counter-affidavit has been filed on behalf of the Kanpur University, in para. 7 of which it is stated :