RANI DURGAWATI VISHWA VIDYALAYA, JABALPUR Vs. SANTOSH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BEING aggrieved by the order dated 9 -10 -2002, passed by the learned single Judge, in Writ Petition No. 1592/2002, appellants have filed this Letters Patent Appeal under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent.

(2.) THE factual matrix of the case is in a narrow compass. Santosh Kumar, the respondent No. 1 herein belongs to Other Backward Class (hereinafter referred to as 'OBC'). He applied for LL.B. Entrance Examination conducted by appellant No. 1: Rani Durgawati Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur (hereinafter referred to as 'University') in the year 2001. He was allowed to appear in the said examination. On being successful in the entrance test, he was admitted as a regular student of The New Education Society Law College, Jabalpur, respondent No. 2. The respondent No. 1 deposited requisite fees of Rs. 2,600.00 and obtained the instructions for the whole year. The respondent No. 1 prepared himself to take the examination which was to commence from April 4, 2002 as per time table, Annexure P -5. Vide communication dated March 7, 2002, Annexure P -6, the respondent No. 1 was informed by the University that his form for appearing in the LL.B., Part -I examination has been rejected as the marks obtained by him in the graduation and post graduation are below 40%, therefore, he was not entitled to be admitted in the first year of LL.B. course.

(3.) COMBATING the allegations made in the writ petition, the appellant -University filed return. It was put forth that according to the Ordinance of the University, the minimum marks for the purpose of admission in the entrance examination of law stream was 40% in the aggregate. A relaxation of 5% marks was permissible to the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories. Since the petitioner did not belong to either of these categories and admittedly belongs to OBC, the benefit of relaxation is not available to him. Since the respondent No. 1 was not fulfilling the eligibility criterion laid down for admission in LL.B. First Year, he was not entitled to admission.