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High Court Of Calcutta
GITESH RANJAN BHATTACHARJEE
MALABIKA DHAR - Appellant
Versus
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH BENGAL - Respondent
. . Of .
Decided On : 04/27/1995
ADMISSION - CANCELLATION OF ADMISSION - IRREGULARITY - FAIRNESS - SITUATIONAL FAIRNESS - UNIVERSITY'S MISTAKE - ADMISSION OF STUDENTS BY BREAKING PRIORITY - CANCELLATION OF ADMISSION OF STUDENTS ADMITTED BY MISTAKE - CREATION OF VACANCIES - ACCOMMODATION OF STUDENTS WHOSE PRIORITY CLAIMS WERE BYPASSED - INCREASE IN INTAKE CAPACITY BY UNIVERSITY - ADMISSION OF THREE MORE STUDENTS FROM MERIT LIST - NOTIFICATION OF LIST OF CANDIDATES IN ORDER OF PRIORITY IN MERIT LIST FOR ADMISSION.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners were admitted to the M.A. Part-I class of the University of North Bengal. Subsequently, the Executive Council of the University cancelled their admission on the ground that it was done in violation of the prescribed rules and norms.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the admission of the petitioners was not illegal and that they were not responsible for any irregularity in the matter of admission. The court also found that the cancellation of the admission of the petitioners would not cure the irregularity or mistake committed by the university.
Issues: 1. Whether the admission of the petitioners was illegal? 2. Whether the petitioners were responsible for any irregularity in the matter of admission? 3. Whether the cancellation of the admission of the petitioners would cure the irregularity or mistake committed by the university?
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the admission of the petitioners was not illegal and that they were not responsible for any irregularity in the matter of admission. The court also held that the cancellation of the admission of the petitioners would not cure the irregularity or mistake committed by the university. The court further held that the situational fairness demands that the petitioners being only three in number and having no fault of their own in the matter, should be allowed to continue their studies in the course in which they have been admitted instead of being jettisoned at this stage inasmuch as cancellation of admission, in the complexity of the situation, practically serves no purpose.
Final Decision: The court quashed the impugned action of the University and its authorities in cancelling the admission of the petitioners and directed that the petitioners shall be allowed to continue in the concerned course. The court also directed the university to increase the intake capacity by three more seats in the M.A. Part-I Sociology and Social Anthropology course for the session 1993-94 and admit three more students from the merit list in accordance with the priority of claim out of those candidates who may still be willing and available to be admitted it. the said course of the said session.
( 1 ) THE three writ petitioners have filed the present writ petition under Art. 226 for quashing the impugned orders bearing Ref. No. SSA / 95 / 10 / (41) dated the l 5/03/1995 issued in respect of each of the three petitioners by the respondent No. 6, the Head of the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of North Bengal by which the petitioners who were already admitted to the M. A. Part-I Class of the said University, have been informed that their admission to the said class has been cancelled by the Executive Council in its meeting held on 13/03/1995 in view of the gross violation of the prescribed rules for such admission. The petitioners were accordingly instructed therein not to attend the classes with immediate effect. On receipt of the same the petitioner No. 1 also wrote to the respondent No. 7 on the Very next day, that is, on 16/03/1995 that she did not violate any rule and that she got herself admitted in accordance with the official procedure. In the said letter which is Annexure--E to the writ petition the petitioner also wondered as to what was her fault for which the Executive Council could take a decision to terminate her academic career. She also requested the respondent No. 6 to let her know the specific rules that she had violated and further requested that if no such rules had been violated by her then she might be informed as to why she should be punished after almost a month of her admission for no fault committed by her.
( 2 ) THE petitioners contend that they passed B. A, examination with honours (10 + 2 + 3 system) from the North Bengal University and pursuant to an advertisement issued by the said university in the month of September 1994 in the daily newspaper 'uttarbanga Sambad' inviting applications for admission to different post-graduate courses in the academic session 1993-94, the petitioners separately applied in the prescribed forms for admission to the M. A. Part I course in Sociology and Social Anthropology within the time stipulated in the said advertisement. It is also the petitioners' case that there were 35 seats for the said subject and the merit list comprising of 70 candidates was prepared by the University and the petitioners were selected and their names were also included in the merit list. According to the petitioners' case, the first list of 35 candidates was published in November 1994 wherein the petitioners names did not appear. But since all the candidates did not respond to the offer of admission to the M. A. Part-I class in Sociology and Social Anthropology, some of the 35 seats remained vacant and admission to the said subject was being made in accordance with the merit list. It is the contention of the petitioners that the last date for admission to the said subject which was originally fixed on 15-2-95 was subsequently extended to 23-2-95 and on 14-2-95 three seats still remained vacant and on approach by the petitioners to the Vice-Chancellor of the University they were admitted to the M. A. Part-I class for the session 1993-94 in the said subject. Annexure-A to the writ petition is a written authorisation dated 22-2-95 issued by the Secretary to the Faculty Council for Postgraduate Studies in Arts, Commerce and Law, University of North Bengal, to the effect that the writ petitioner No. 3 may be provisionally admitted to the M. A. Part-I class for the session 1993-94 in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. It is the case of the petitioners that similar authorisations were issued also in respect of the other two petitioners and the petitioners were accordingly admitted to the M. A. Part-I class and they joined the class on 22/24-2-95 and the Library Cards were also issued to them and they were regularly attending their classes after such admission. It is however the petitioners' case that it is the usual practice that the initial admission is made only provisionally in all cases. The petitioners were
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