RAJENDRA KUMAR Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR VIKRAM UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is submitted by an examinee at the IIIrd year B. Sc. (Mechanical Engineering) examination held by the Vikram university Ujjain in the year 1962. The petitioner is named Rajendra Kumar and his Roll Number was 228. The petitioner seeks to quash the order issued pursuant to the resolution No. 10 dated 9-5-1962 passed by the Results Committee of the university, consisting of the Vice Chancellor as the Chairman and other two members, cancelling the examination of the petitioner for the year 1962 and debarring him from appearing at the examination to be held in the year 1963 and 1964.

(2.) THE petitioner was a student of Govindram Seksaria Technological Institute. Indore. He appeared at the IIIrd year Mechanical Engineering B. Sc. Examination held by the Vikram University for the year 1962. While the examination was in progress and the petitioner was solving his paper No. 32 M (Electrical Engineering)on 25-4-1962 the Superintendent of the examination took away his answer-book when only five minutes were left for the days' examination and asked him to leave the examination-hall suspecting him to be guilty of some unfair practice while writing his answer-book. The petitioner learned nothing about any further steps which were being taken against him until 25th of August 1962 when the list of students guilty of unfair practices at the examination was notified and the petitioner was declared to have been debarred from appearing at the examination for the years 1963 and 1964 and his examination for the year 1962 as having been cancelled. The grievance of the petitioner is that the University while taking the action of the nature above referred imposing the said punishment acted in a quasi-judicial capacity and that it was incumbent upon it to give opportunity to the petitioner to explain the circumstances assumed to exist against him and to meet the same. This was not done. The committee thus acted against the principles of natural justice. The petitioner made a demand for justice but the wrong done to him was not rectified. On these allegations the petitioner seeks to quash the punishment imposed upon him.

(3.) IN the return submitted on behalf of the respondents Nos. 1, 2 and 4 namely the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar and the Vikram University by the Registrar of the University Shri V. Shankaran it was contended that during the examination held on 25-4-1962 petitioner was found, by the Invigilator Shri Tulapurkar and the senior Superintendent of Examination Dr. Dasgupta, to be in possession of a scale having some diagrams on it. Thereupon as per instructions issued to all the superintendents at an examination for dealing with the reported cases involving alleged unfair practices the explanation of the petitioner was sought for his possession of that scale with diagrams on it and his answer-book was at once withdrawn. The petitioner submitted his explanation on 3-5-1962 suggesting that he had asked the invigilator on duty to provide him with a scale to draw diagrams; that the invigilator did supply him the scale in question and he drew diagrams with it but that when only two minutes for the examination were left the Senior superintendent with one of the two invigilators went to him to check the scale which unfortunately for him was found to have 'a connection diagram of Disde which happened to occur in the question paper as an indirect question'. In view of this explanation, reply of the two invigilators on duty Shri Tulapurkar and Shri Ketkar was sought in writing to the same. They filed a joint explanation denying the fact that they had supplied any scale to the petitioner. The Senior superintendent therefore, was satisfied that the petitioner used the said scale with a diagram on it in answering one of the questions and referred the matter to the university for an appropriate action. It is further stated by the Registrar that in exercise of the power under Section 29 (g) of the Vikram University Act Ordinance no. 16 has been framed by the Syndicate for regulating the examinations in general under Section 10 of which the Syndicate is empowered to debar a candidate found guilty of using or attempting to use unfair means at an examination. In the scheme of the said Ordinance the matter goes to the syndicate on the report of the Results Committee appointed under another ordinance No, 32. The Results Committee, it is said, is charged with duty under Section 5 of ordinance No. 32 to deal with the cases of candidates reported to have been guilty of unfair means at an examination. The concerned authorities placed all the material before the Results Committee including the report of the invigilators and the explanation of the petitioner. The Committee thereupon unanimously resolved to cancel the petitioner's examination for 1962 and to debar him from examination for 1963 and 1964. The report of the Results Committee was then placed before the Syndicate in its meeting dated 11-8-1962 when they approved of the said recommendation of the Results Committee in their Resolution No. 272 dated 11th august 1962.