The court held that the decision of the respondent authorities to disqualify the petitioner under Regulation 5(a) without finding mala-fide possession of material was non-speaking and cryptic, and failed to consider the grounds raised by the petitioner in his appeal/representation. The court emphasized the importance of recording reasons for decisions, even in administrative orders, to rule out arbitrariness and ensure transparency and accountability.

JUDGMENT :

VIKAS BAHL, J.

1. This is a Civil Writ Petition filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for setting aside the communication/letter/order dated 02.05.2023 issued by the respondent No. 3 (Annexure P-9), whereby the petitioner has been informed that his unfair means case has been decided and that the petitioner has been disqualified from appearing in any university examination for two years (four exams) including the one in which he was found guilty i.e. from November/December, 2022 to May/June 2024. Challenge has also been made to the communication/letter/order dated 09.06.2023 (Annexure P-13) vide which the petitioner has been informed that the appeal/request made by the petitioner has been rejected.

2. The brief facts of the present case are that the petitioner had passed 10+2 examination in the year 2020 and thereafter, had taken admission in Chitkara University in Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering for the batch of 2020 to 2024 and the petitioner had successfully passed his first semester and second semester examination with SGPA:9.42 and 9.53, respectively, as is apparent from the result annexed as Annexure P-1. In the year 2021, the petitioner gave the Punjab University Migration Engineering Entrance Test-2021, in which, he was successful and was admitted in the Punjab University, Chandigarh where he successfully passed the examinations of the third and fourth semester of Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) in the session 2021-22. In the year 2022, the petitioner was promoted to the fifth semester and after completion of the academic session of the semester, the petitioner was to appear for the examination which was scheduled in the month of December 2022. The petitioner appeared in the first five examinations of the fifth semester which were held from 13.12.2022 to 22.12.2022 and the last examination in the subject of Fluid Machinery (MEC-506) was to be held on 24.12.2022 at 09:30 am. Before the petitioner could write anything in the exam, he was, as per the case of the respondent authorities, caught with incriminating material as per the report dated 24.12.2022 written at 09:45 AM by the Invigilator. The said report was forwarded in a sealed cover to the Assistant Registrar, Punjab University, Chandigarh and thereafter, the petitioner, vide letter dated 27.02.2023 (Annexure P-6), was given show cause notice as to why action should not be taken against him and he was directed to appear before the Assistant Registrar on 02.03.2023. The petitioner appeared in pursuance of the said letter on 02.03.2023 and was further called for personal hearing by the UMC Standing Committee-II on 28.04.2023 which the petitioner attended. The UMC Standing Committee-II in its minutes which have been annexed as Annexure R-3 (at page 55 of the paper book) resolved that the Committee members were of the view that although, the petitioner could not copy from the recovered material but since, the slips were related to the subject matter, therefore, the petitioner was found guilty and was disqualified from appearing in any University examinations for two years (four exams) including the one in which he was found guilty under Regulation 5(a) of the Punjab University Calender Volume-II, 2007. In pursuance of the said minutes, decision dated 02.05.2023 (Annexure P-9) (at page 31 of the paper book) signed by the Assistant Registrar, UMC, was communicated to the petitioner and in the said decision, it had been stated that the unfair means case pending against the petitioner has been decided and that the petitioner has been disqualified from appearing in any university examination for two years (four exams) including the one in which he was found guilty, under Regulation 5(a). The petitioner filed an appeal dated 10.05.2023 (Annexure P-10) (at page 32 of the paper book) raising several grounds including the ground, mentioned in Para 6 of the same,