SHAM SUNDER Vs. PUNJAB UNIVERSITY ETC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, of a medical student, Sham Sunder studying in the Medical College, Amritsar. It is alleged that he was in the second professional M.B.B.S. Class in the year 1962 and when the examination for the first professional M.B.B.S. were held in April, 1962, one Ravi Loona, who was a student of the first professional M.B.B.S class, was appearing in his Anatomy paper on 13th April, 1962. When he came out of the examination hall to go to the bath room it is alleged by the petitioner that he was standing along with some other students near the College Library which was near the examination hall. When Ravi Loona was going back to the Examination Hall, some students gave him a chit. This was detected by the Superintendent or some invigitator who immediately tried to recover the chit from Ravi Loona but the latter swallowed it. Ravi Loona made some statement prejudicial to the petitioner but he did not know what that statement was as that was not taken in his presence. The Deputy Registrar, Punjab University, sent for the petitioner on 13th May, 1962, and asked him to answer a Questionnaire. The allegation made in the petition is that Deputy Registrar Shri K.C. Walia, was on very friendly relation with Ravi Loona and wanted to save him and it was on his prompting that the petitioner answered the Questionnaire in the manner suggested by him. A questionnaire was also handed over to Ravi Loona but only after the petitioner had answered to the questionnaire placed before him. Subsequently the petitioner came to know that the had been disqualified from appearing in the second professional M.B.B.S. examination for one year, although a copy of the order was not sent to him. He filed an appeal against the order to the Vice Chancellor but the latter dismissed the appeal without hearing him. Later on, the petitioner requested the Registrar to furnish him with attested copies of various documents set out in paragraph 13 of the petition but the same were not supplied. The main grievance of the petitioner is that he was not afforded an ample opportunity to represent his case and explain his conduct and there has been a violation of the rules of natural justice.

(2.) In the written statement filed by the University, one of the preliminary objections that has been taken is that the petition is belated as the period of disqualification has already expired and the petitioner is entitled to appear in the examination to be held during the month of September. It was asserted in categorical terms that it was the petitioner who had given the chit to Ravi Loona on 16th April, 1963 and not on 13th April as alleged which was swallowed by the latter. This was detected at that very time by Shri P.C. Khanna, the Supervisor, who made a report to the Deputy Superintendent by whom the statement of Ravi Loona was recorded on that very day which was as follows :-

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner strongly relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in The Board of High School and Intermediate Education U.P. v. Ghanshyam Das Gupta, 1962 64 PunLR 575), where it has been laid down that though there is nothing express one way or the other in the U.P. Intermediate Education Act or the regulations, casting a duty on the Examination Committee to act judicially, the manner of the disposal based as it must be on materials placed before it, and the serious effects of the decision of the Committee on the examinee concerned must lead to the conclusion that a duty is cast on the Committee to act judicially in determining cases of misconduct and that when cases of examinees using unfair means at the examination are dealt with, the Committee acts in a quasi- judicial capacity and the principles of natural justice would apply to the proceedings before the Committee. The following observations, however, at page 581 are noteworthy :-