ANANTA MUKHERJEE Vs. UTKAL UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this writ application with a prayer to direct the opp. parties to give her admission in P.G. Course of Art History under M.V.A. Stream of Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar during the academic session 2017-18.

(2.) The case of the petitioner is that she is a graduate from Utkal University of Culture. She has completed her Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts securing 1st Class with distinction in the year 2017 from B.K. College of Art and Craft, a Government College affiliated to Utkal University of Culture (opp. party No. 1). For admitting the students into various courses including that of P.G. Course in Art History leading to award of M.V.A. degree during academic session 2017-18, the opp. party No. 1 released its Prospectus under Annexure-1. Accordingly, the petitioner applied for getting admitted into P.G. course of Art History. On 1.7.2017 vide Annexure-2, the opp. party No. 3 published the names of eligible candidates of the different Departments for taking the aptitude test. The name of the petitioner along with another candidate were shown in the said list against the Department of Art History. Accordingly, the petitioner and other candidate/applicant were allowed to take aptitude test on 7.7.2017. Both the above noted candidates passed the aptitude test and were found eligible to take admission. Notwithstanding all this when vide Annexure-3 dated 10.7.2017, the opp. parties 2 and 3 published the list of candidates provisionally selected to take admission in different P.G. Departments for the 1st semester of the academic session 2017-18, in the said notification, the P.G. Department of Art History was not there. In such background, the petitioner has filed the present writ application with the earlier noted prayer.

(3.) Pursuant to notice by Special Messenger on 26.7.2017, counter affidavit was filed by the opp. parties on 11.10.2017. In the counter, stand of the opp. parties is that Note-I of the Prospectus under Annexure-1 makes it clear that in the event of student strength becoming less than five for regular courses, the University reserved the right to discontinue such course for the session 2017-18. In the instant case, since only two candidates including the petitioner were found successful in the aptitude test and thus though they were eligible to take admission, yet in view of the above mentioned Note-I of the Prospectus, the name of the petitioner has not been reflected in the merit list for admission pertaining to the year 2017-18. Thus, the petitioner has not been allowed to take admission. Their further stand is that there are no regular Lecturers in the University to take classes in Art History and in past, teaching was done through Guest Lecturers and when only two candidates were found eligible to take admission in the P.G. Department of Art History for the year 2017-18, it was decided that hiring of Guest Lecturers would not be economically viable.