SADANANDA PATNAIK Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR BERHAMPUR UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by a student of the Ramchandra Mardaraj Science College at Khallikote in the district of ganjam, which is affiliated to the Berhampur University established under the berhampur University Act of 1966. The petitioner appeared at the Pre-University (Arts) Examination of 1968. The said examination was held in the month of July and its results were published on 19-9-68. The petitioner's result, however, was not declared, but before the said date on 2-9-68 the petitioner was called upon by the Assistant Registrar of the University to show cause why action might not be taken against him for having taken recourse to unfair means in the Examination Hall. On 9-9-68 the petitioner submitted his explanation in which he denied all the allegations and imputed bias and mala fides against one Sri Prabhu Prasad panigrahi, a Lecturer in Political Science of the College where the petitioner studied, and categorically stated that the said Sri Panigrahi, who was the invigilator, might have inserted the printed page, which was detected from the petitioner's answer book, after the answer paper was submitted by the petitioner to the said Invigilator at the end of the day's examination. The University authorities did not hold any other enquiry to the knowledge of the petitioner, but ultimately by an order dated 12-12-68 cancelled the result of the petitioner's examination and directed that he be debarred from appearing at any examination of the University prior to the annual examination of 1970. It is against the said order of 12-12-68 that the petitioner has come up to this Court seeking for issue of a Writ of certiorari to quash the said order.

(2.) THE stand taken by the University Authorities would appear from the notice dated 2-9-68 issued to the petitioner. For convenience it is extracted below:

(3.) IT may not be out of place to mention here that the petitioner applied to the university for his mark sheet in the impugned examination and was supplied on 11-10-68, the marks which he secured at the Second P. U. Arts Examination held in July 1968. The said mark sheet goes to show that the petitioner had passed in all the papers, and the petitioner contends that the impugned order of cancellation of his result and the penalty of debarring him from appearing at the subsequent examinations until 1970 be cancelled, and on the basis of the marks secured by him the University be called upon to publish his result.