MONIKA GARG Vs. KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY KURUKSHETRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Joint admission to the 4 Year Under-graduate Engineering Courses at the Regional Engineering Colleges and Chhotu Ram State College of Engineering, Murthal, situated in the State of Haryana, apparently seems to breed litigation after litigation. This Court in the recent past in CWP No. 6755 of 1989 (N. K. Batra v. Kurukshetra University and others) decided on August 16, 1989: (reported in AIR 1990 Punj and Har 32), settled a matter with regard to the competing claims of the Central Board of Secondary Education certificate holders and the Haryana Board of School Education certificate holders which met the seal of approval from the Supreme Court expressly in Special Leave Petition (C) No. 10136 of 1989 (The C.R. State College of Engineering, Murthal and others v. N.K. Batra and others) decided on August 31, 1989. Now close to its heels, we have the instant litigation and this time the period involved in the earlier litigation has been sought to be cashed upon by the respondents in giving preferential treatment to some over the others, the details whereof are as under : As given in the admission brochure, the qualifying examination for seeking admission to the referred B. Tech Course is that the candidate should have passed the Senior Secondary Certificate (10 + 2) examination from the Board of Secondary Education, Haryana, or its equivalent. Undeniably, a certificate obtained from the Central Board of Secondary Education is equivalent to the certificate obtained from the Board of Secondary Education, Haryana. In accordance with clause 5 of the brochure, a candidate will be eligible for admission to the first year of the B. Tech. Degree Course only if he fulfils the requirements as mentioned therein, one of which is that he must satisfy the minimum prescribed qualifications for admission as given in Annexure-III, which has already been taken note of. Now, while submitting the application the candidate must complete it in all respects in his own writing on the prescribed form given at the end of the brochure and should enclose, amongst others, an attested copy of the said certificate from the Board/University/Council showing the detailed marks in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and English in the qualifying examination on the basis of which admission is sought (Emphasis supplied). The attestation in this case should preferably be by the Head of the Institution last attended. This is the mandate of Clause 8. Further Clause 11 prescribes that June 26, 1989, shall be the last date for submission of applications and which must be complete in all respects and with all enclosures including the attested copy of the certificate showing the detailed marks of the qualifying examination. In accordance with Clause 14, the application received after 5 p. m. on June 26, 1989, or which does not give complete particulars or encloses all the documents indicated in the application form, will not be considered. Clause 15 provides for interview and admission, which we would advert to later. Clause 16 prescribes that at the time of interview the candidate must produce the documents mentioned therein in original before the Admission Committee. Amongst such documents are the certificates and detailed marks-sheet in support of the educational qualification and marks.

(2.) The petitioners herein claim to have made applications within the prescribed time and having submitted along therewith the requisite certificates. The grouse raised now is that in the meantime certain candidates are likely, at the time of the interview, to press into service substituted marks, which they have obtained in the qualifying examination, of three kinds : i) Improved marks of the qualifying examination as held on July 26, 1989, result whereof was declared on August 26, 1989 by the Central Board of Secondary Education. ii) Rectification of marks done by scrutiny of the old result both by the Haryana Board and the Central Board. iii) Re-evaluation done by the Haryana Board and the Central Board, on the old result. Grievance was also made that in the letters issued for interview, a note had been appended suggesting that the improved result of the qualifying examination would be taken into consideration, which has put fear in the minds of the petitioners to approach this Court.

(3.) In the short return filed by respondents Nos. 3 and 5, it has been suggested that the College would be within its right to take into account the position of qualifying marks as it stood on the date when the candidates are being called for interview since admission would be completed on the date of the interview. In that regard, Clause 15 is pressed into service, which says in hold words :