REKHA DEVI Vs. H.P.UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner, who is a qualified Acharya, has sought direction against the respondent University declaring her to be eligible for admission to M Phil. Course in the subject of Sanskrit and to admit her for the said course if she is otherwise selected on merits.

(2.) Petitioner after doing her matriculation, passed one years course of Pragaya Shastri and thereafter underwent three years Vashist Shastri Course which she qualified in the month of October, 1987. After a further two years course, the petitioner qualified the Acharya examination of the respondent University in May, 1989 which she did from Sanskrit College, Solan. According to the petitioner, the respondent University conduct two type of examinations in Sanskrit at Graduation level, namely, Shastri (which is purely in Sanskrit subjects) and Vashist Shastri (all Shastri subjects alongwith additional subjects inclusive of English as elective subject - all of graduation level). It is further averred by the petitioner that Vashist Shastri Course has been declared equivalent to B - A. Hons. (Classics) by the respondent University. It is further the case of petitioner that the respondent University conducts two type of examinations in Sanskrit at Post Graduation level, i.e., M. A. (Sanskrit) and Acharya. As the petitioner is stated to have obtained Vashist Shastri Degree with additional subjects, therefore, according to her, she having done post graduation, i. e, Acharya is qualified for admission in the M. Phil. Course. It is stated by the petitioner that she did apply for being admitted to the M. Phil. Course on the basis of representation made by the respondent University in the Hand Book of Information for the year 1989 -90 but her request for being considered to be admitted to M. Phil. Course was wrongly turned down by the respondent University.

(3.) Respondent -University filed its return on the affidavit of Registrar of the University pointing it out that the University has not declared Vashist Shastri Degree to be equivalent to B. A. Honours in Sanskrit. It has been averred that according to the provisions contained in the Hand Book of Information, an Acharya is eligible to seek admission to M. A. (Sanskrit) only and not to M. Phil The provision of Vashist Shastri to be considered for admission to M Phil, is subject to amendment of the University Ordinances, which amendment still awaits the approval of the Chancellor. It has specifically been denied that the petitioner, who is Vashist Shastri and Acharya is eligible for being admitted to M.Phil. Course. According to the respondent, the Board of Studies (Oriental Titles) of the respondent University which had issued the Information contained in the Hand Book of Information on the basis of which the petitioner applied for being admitted to M. Phil, had no jurisdiction to declare equivalence of degrees and such provision contained in the Hand Book of Information is not binding on the respondent University. The matter is still under consideration of the University.