RANJIT SINGH Vs. GURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY, AMRITSAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition seeks quashing of order dated 14.5.2007, Annexure P.14 disqualifying the petitioner for three years from appearing in any examination of the University.

(2.) Case of the petitioner is that he was a student of B.Sc. Part-II in the year 2005-06 and appeared in the examination in April 2006. He stood first in the College. One Balkar Singh Professor of the College made a complaint against him on which Shri Amarjit Singh Gulati, IAS was appointed to look into the allegations. The Enquiry Officer recorded finding in favour of the petitioner but the Vice Chancellor appointed another Committee and the said Committee disqualified/debarred the petitioner for three years from appearing in any examination of the University vide order, dated 12.12.2006 without giving proper opportunity to the petitioner. The petitioner filed CWP No. 5017 of 2007, wherein vide order dated 23.4.2007, direction to pass a speaking order was issued. On 14.5.2007. the impugned order has been passed which has been communicated to the petitioner on 21.5.2007 debarring him for three years. The impugned order refers to the allegation that the answer sheets given by the petitioner were totally blank but he was declared to have passed. Shri Amarjit Singh Gulati IAS (Retd) had exonerated the petitioner-candidate but the Vice Chancellor ordered a fresh enquiry by Shri M.S. Chawla, Additional District Judge (Retd.) who advised that the matter be taken up by the Standing Committee dealing with unfair means cases. The Standing Committee passed a unanimous order dated 23.11.2006 indicating the petitioner for use of unfair means and disqualified him for three years under Ordinance 100(j) read with ordinances 13 and 11.1. His mercy petition was dismissed on 20.2.2007. In the light of order of this Court dated 23.4.2007, the matter was again considered and it was found that the answer sheet of English paper dated 4.4.2006 had unwritten pages bearing blank stamps and written answers on existing blank stamps on two pages of the answer sheet. In the paper of Economics 'A' dated 6.4.2006, the candidate had removed the blank stamp seals with some chemical fluid. The explanation of the candidate that white material marks already existed on the answer sheet was found not to be reliable. Further stand of the candidate that he had brought this fact to the notice of the Superintendent, was also held not to be reliable. It was observed that the earlier report of Shri Amarjit Singh Gulati, IAS (Retd.) was based on the statement of the evaluator, Shri Aggarwal that stamping of blank answer sheets could be by negligence. This was contrary to the testimony of Fulwinder Pal Singh, another evaluator, who evaluated the Economics paper. The candidate, thus, was held to have used unfair means.

(3.) In view of findings recorded in the report of the Unfair Means Committee which could not be shown to be perverse, we did not find any ground to issue notice on merits of the findings recorded therein but issued notice on the question whether the punishment of debarring be reduced to two years.