SAURABH AGGARWAL Vs. KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Is a student who has qualified the Combined Engineering Entrance Test liable to be excluded from consideration for admission to a college only because the application form sent by him is received late even though he had despatched it well in advance before the last date? This is the short question that arises for consideration in this petition.

(2.) The petitioner lays claim to a good academic record. He passed the Matriculation Examination in the year 1992 with 83.2% marks. He passed the 11th class examination with 80% marks and the 12th class examination with 84.2% marks. His score in the subjects of Mathematics and Science was 96% and 87% respectively the petitioner appeared in the Entrance Test held in May, 1994. He was successful. He was placed at No. 1206 in order of merit out of a total of about 15,000 candidates.

(3.) An advertisement was published in the Times of India inviting applications for admission in various Engineering Colleges from the candidates who had qualified the Entrance Test. It was inter alia stipulated that the applications must reach the Principal, Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra by 5 P.M. on 8/07/1994. The petitioner submitted his application forms for being considered for admission to the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra and Sir Chhotu Ram State College of Engineering, Murthal (Haryana). These application forms were sent by Registered A.D. post on 1/07/1994. Copies of the postal receipts Nos. 1791 and 1792 issued by the Post Office, Sector 7, Faridabad, have been produced as Annexures P-2 and P-3 with the writ petition. When the petitioner did not get the 'acknowledgment' receipts, he personally visited the offices of the respondents and made enquiries on 12/07/1994. He was informed that the application forms had not been received. He submitted fresh application form on the same day. Later, he found that the original application forms had been received by the authorities concerned on 14/07/1994. The petitioner requested the authorities to consider his claim for admission as he had submitted the application forms in time. Having been informed that his claim for admission could not be considered as the forms had not been received by the last date, he has approached this Court through the present writ petition on 22/07/1994. The petitioner submits that the interviews are to be held in the second week of August, 1994, and that the action of the respondents in excluding him from consideration is illegal and arbitrary.