SHOBHA RANI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed by the petitioners claiming that they have a right to get lateral admission in the B.Tech 2nd year in Dairy Technology.

(2.) As per the petition, the respondent No.3 conducts a course in Dairy Technology and as per notification February, 2018 (Annexure P-8) the three top students of the diploma course were entitled to lateral admission in the 2nd year of the B.Tech course of Dairy Technology run at the campus of respondent No.2. However, in the academic year 2020- 2021 admission to only the top candidate was given whereas the present petitioners who are at No.2 and 3 in the merit list were illegally denied the admission. In the written statement filed by the respondents it has been disclosed that since there was a significant decrease in admission to the diploma programme, the Academic Council of the respondent No.2 in its 47th meeting held on 23.11.2019 decided that only 10% of the passed out students be given admission as a lateral entry to B.Tech (DT) 2nd year programme. Further during the academic session 2019-2020 only five students cleared the diploma and on the basis of the decision of the Academic Council (supra) one student was granted admission. It has been argued that no challenge has been laid to this decision and the whole claim is based on the decision which had been taken for the previous years which is no longer applicable. Further the decision has been defended even on merits by asserting that the Academic Council (supra) is the supreme body to decide these issues and it was only after having a conspectus of the entire facts including the fact that there is very less admission in the diploma course, that the present decision was taken.

(3.) It has been held in a catena of judgments that Courts should be loathe to interfere in purely academic matters. Moreover, the Supreme Court in Ran Vijay Singh and ors. Vs. State of U.P. and ors. , 2018 AIR(SC) 52 laid down as follows :-