The court held that once an applicant has submitted their category for admission, changes post-application, especially after results are declared, are impermissible to maintain orderly admissions.

JUDGMENT

Prateek Jalan, J. (ORAL)--The petitioner was an applicant for admission to the LL.B. Course in Delhi University. She seeks an order directing the respondent-University ["the University"] to consider her candidature for admission in the Economically Weaker Sections ["EWS"] quota.

2. The facts are largely undisputed. The petitioner completed her B.A. degree in June, 2019 and thereafter applied for admission in the LL.B. programme. She admittedly applied in the general category, as she did not have an EWS certificate at the time of application. The petitioner thereafter appeared in the entrance examination on 09.09.2020. The results of the examination were declared on 09.11.2020 and the petitioner scored 213 marks out of 400. She was unable to obtain admission in the General category. On 01.12.2020, the petitioner applied to the office of the SDM, Baraud in the State of Uttar Pradesh for issuance of EWS certificate and thereafter addressed a communication dated 02.12.2020 to the University to consider her request for admission in the EWS quota. According to the petitioner, her request was not considered, and the final list of admissions was published on 30.12.2020.

3. Mr. Kshitij Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the petitioner was unable to apply for an EWS certificate from the authorities of State of Uttar Pradesh in time. However, in support of the petitioner's contention that she was an EWS candidate even at the time of application, Mr. Kumar relies upon a certificate dated 25.06.2016, issued by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in favour of the petitioner's father [annexed to the writ petition as Annexure-B]. He submits that the petitioner, in fact, succeeded in obtaining an EWS certificate in her own name only on 04.12.2020 [Annexure-D to the writ petition] and therefore ought to have been considered for admission in that category.

4. Mr. Ankur Chhibber, learned counsel for the University, has produced a copy of the Prospectus 2020-21 for admission in the LL.B. programme of the University ["the Prospectus"]. The contents of the the Prospectus are undisputed and are taken on record. Mr. Chhibber also relies upon the answers to the Admissions 2020-21 - Frequently Asked Questions ["FAQs"],. The answers to Question nos. 50 and 74 of the FAQs deal with erroneous entry of the category in which the candidate seeks admission. They are in the following terms:

"Question 50: What if I enter wrong information and submit my form? Shall I be allowed to change it later?

5. In the Prospectus, a section titled "Important Instructions" includes the following stipulation:

"The information given by an a