RAMAN SOOD Vs. PANJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition, four students of Government College, Zira, District Ferozepur have invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution for quashing of the order of the University based on the decision of the Standing Committee of the Panjab University on Unfair Means which had found the four petitioners guilty of serious misconduct towards the Supervisory Staff of the Examination Centre and disqualified them for appearing in any University examination for three years.

(2.) Briefly stated, the petitioners appeared in B.A. Part-III examination in April, 1989 held by the Panjab University, Chandigarh, and they along with a number of other students boycotted the examination. Since there was a tension in the examination, about 150 students got collected at the bus stand Zira and gave beating to the Centre Superintendent and threatened him with dire consequences. The matter was reported by the Principal of the College to the local police naming the four petitioners as real culprits and ring leaders of the mob. However, later on with the intervention of the father of one of the petitioners, the matter was compromised but the Panjab University took note of the serious misconduct on the part of the petitioners and initiated proceedings against them. After affording opportunity to the petitioners and after examining the necessary material, the learned Members of the Unfair Means Committee found the petitioners guilty of violation of Regulation 18 of the Chapter II Vol. II of the University Calendar that is serious misconduct, and on the basis thereof, disqualified them for appearing in any University Exam. for a period of three years. This decision of the Committee resulting in the disqualification of the petitioners has been challenged by them, mainly on the ground that out of 150 persons, it was impossible for anybody to identify the petitioners. Therefore, the petitioners could not be held guilty and should have been exonerated especially when the matter had been compromised at the level of the police.

(3.) In the written statement filed by the University, it has been stated "that the respondent-University is duty bound to control the examinations which are held all over the country. It is the duty of the respondent-University to see that the examinations are conducted in a peaceful manner. Moreover, persons/candidates who disrupt, misbehave or create any sort of nuisance or assault the supervisory staff are to be dealt strictly and according to the rules. Here also the petitioners were found guilty of misbehaving and assaulting the Centre Superintendent and the Standing Committee consisting of three Hon'ble members namely Shri P.S. Pattar, retired Judge High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Shri Jiwan Tiwari - a University Fellow and Smt. K. Atma Ram Retd. D.P.I. (absent on that day) rightly disqualified the petitioners for appearing in any University examination for a period of three years including the year in which they were found guilty."