YOGESH SONI Vs. PUNJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this judgment, we would be disposing of Civil writ Petitions No. 6480/1991, 6401/1991, 6626/1991, 6327/1991 and 6505/1991, as common questions of law and facts arise in all the cases. The petitioners are suffering from disqualification of not attending 66 percent of lectures. All the petitioners who were studying either in B.A. Part I or B.A. Part II have challenged action of the Principal of the College in not issuing roll numbers. The case of the petitioners in the Writ Petitions was that they could not be deprived of their right to appear in the examination on the ground of shortage of lectures as the same has occurred on account of agitation against Mandal Commission. This factual position has been denied by the respondents in the return and it has been clearly stated that the colleges remained crossed during the agitation against Mandal Commission. It has further been stated in the return that the petitioners had fallen short of lectures on account of their non-attendance of the lectures which were actually delivered in their classes. During the course of hearing it has not been denied before us that the institutions were closed during agitation against Mandal Commission, and, therefore, the star-point taken by the petitioners in the writ-petitions would be deemed to be not available to them.

(2.) Faced with this situation, the Counsel for the petitioners, has argued that once the University has issued the roll numbers, the Principal has got no jurisdiction to withhold the same. It has further been argued that there is no provision in the Punjab University Calendar or under any regulation authorising a principal to withhold roll number once the same have been issued by the University. The counsel has yet raised another argument that forms sent by the Principal cannot be described to be provisional as the precise word 'provisional' does not find mentioned anywhere in the regulations.

(3.) Learned counsel for the respondents while countering the aforementioned arguments have referred to the provisions of regulation 3.1 (b) of the Punjab University Calendar and have argued that the admission is always provisional and further that if a person does not attend 66 per cent of the full course of lectures delivered to his class, the authorities can withhold the roll numbers. It has further been argued that it a student does not obtain at least 25 per cent marks in the aggregate of all the subjects, he is not entitled to appear in the examination. Regulation 3.1(b) of the Punjab University Calendar Volume II, 1988, reads as under :