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2013 Supreme(MP) 711
MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT
S.K. Gangele, G.D. Saxena, JJ.
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya - Appellant
Versus
Varsha Shakya and Others - Respondent
W.A. No. 650 of 2012
Decided On : 07-01-2013
For the Appellant :Rohit Arya, Senior Advocate assisted by Vinod Kumar Sharma
For the Respondents:Sandeep Sharma for Respondent No. 1 and Varun Kaushik for Respondent No. 2-Union of India andD.P. Singh for Respondent No. 3-DBSE
The central legal point established in the judgment is that schools have a responsibility to help students improve and should avoid granting unfair advantage in admission decisions, in line with the constitutional scheme and Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
Headnote:
Admission - Right to Education - AIR 2009 SC 608 - The judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya and others vs. Saurabh Chaudhary and others, reported in AIR 2009 SC 608 was discussed by the court. The court analyzed the criteria for admission in Science stream without maths and the limited seats available at the school. The court also considered the object of establishment of Navodaya Vidyalaya and the admission procedure. The judgment influenced the court's decision by emphasizing the school's responsibility to help students improve and the need to avoid unfair advantage in admission decisions.
Fact of the Case:
The respondent student sought admission in Class XI in Science Bio stream at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, but was denied due to not meeting the required percentage of marks. The learned Single Judge allowed the writ petition based on the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya and others vs. Saurabh Chaudhary and others, reported in AIR 2009 SC 608.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that granting admission to the respondent in the Science Bio stream would be contrary to the constitutional scheme and Article 14 of the Constitution of India, as it would give an unfair advantage and cause another meritorious candidate to suffer.
Issues: The main issue was whether the respondent student had the right to admission in the Science Bio stream despite not meeting the required percentage of marks, and whether the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Saurabh Chaudhary (supra) was applicable in the present case.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the school's responsibility to help students improve and the need to avoid unfair advantage in admission decisions influenced the decision. It also emphasized the limited seats available and the admission procedure of Navodaya Vidyalaya.
Final Decision: The appeal filed by the appellant was allowed, and the impugned order passed by the learned Single Judge was quashed.
JUDGMENT
S.K. Gangele, J.
1. The appellant has filed this appeal against the order dated 24-9-2012 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P. No. 5090/2012. The respondent No. 1 was the student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Jaida, Sheopur. She appeared in Class X examination for the session 2010-12 and secured CGPA of 6.8 amounting to 68% in total. Respondent No. 1 made a request to the authorities of the school that she be permitted to continue her studies in Class XI with Science, Bio stream. However, the school authorities advised respondent No. 1 that it was not possible to grant admission to her in Science Bio stream because she could not get required percentage of marks and the authorities advised her that she can pursue her study from Arts stream at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Rajgarh. The authorities further submitted that the minimum prescribed grade points for Science stream were 7 grade points in Science in Class X examination. When she was not granted admission in Science stream at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Jaida, Sheopur, she filed a writ petition before this court.
2. The learned Single Judge allowed the writ petition after relying on the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya and others vs. Saurabh Chaudhary and others, reported in AIR 2009 SC 608 and directed the appellant school to grant admission to the respondent No. 1 in Class XI in Science Bio stream.
3. Learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant contended that the order passed by the learned Single Judge is contrary to law. There are limited seats available in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Jaida, Sheopur in Class XI and as per merit list the respondent No. 1 could not get admission in the aforesaid stream. Hence, she has been offered admission in Arts stream in another Navodaya Vidyalaya. Learned senior counsel further submitted that the learned Single Judge has wrongly relied on the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Saurabh Chaudhary (supra).
4. Contrary to this, learned counsel for respondent No. 1 has contended that the respondent No. 1 has a right to education and she could not be denied the admission in higher class on the basis of marks obtained by her.
5. The respondent No. 1 received total 68 grade points in Class X examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education. She received following marks:
6. Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Regional Office, Bhopal communicated all the schools the criteria for grant of admission in various streams vide letter dated 1st May, 2012, a copy of which has been filed as Annexure R/1. As per the criteria, for getting admission in Science stream without maths 7.0 Grade Point in Science is necessary. There are 41 seats available at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Jaida, Sheopur for Science with Maths and Bio. 33 seats are for Maths with Science and 8 seats are for Bio with Science.
7. The appellant produced a chart before the writ court as Annexure R/2 and the students, who had received higher percentage of marks, in accordance with their choice have been allotted Science Stream with Maths and Bio and rest of the near about 32 students, who received lower marks, have been allotted Commerce and Arts Stream. The respondent No. 1 was placed at S. No. 31 because her overall GP was 25 and she was the second lowest. Accordingly, she is offered a stream of Arts at another school i.e. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Rajgarh.
8. The object of establishment of Navodaya Vidyalaya has been mentioned in the memorandum of Association of the Society, which is as under:
(i) To provide good quality modern education-including a strong component of inculcation of values, awareness of the environment, adventure activities and physical education to the talented children predominantly from the rural areas without regard to their family's socioeconomic condition.
9. From the Memorandum of Association of the Society, it is clear that the object of establishment of Navodaya
