HC upholds KU decision to cancel admissions of ‘ineligible students’
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 19
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld Kurukshetra University’s decision to cancel admissions of “ineligible students”, who passed qualifying examinations through distant mode from the Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (EIILM) University, Sikkim.
Justice GS Sandhawalia dismissed 34 petitions on the issue. The order came on a petition filed by Devki Nandan and other petitioners against KU and other respondents.
The court was told the reason behind the decision was neither the mode of study nor proof of submitting information on mode of passing the examination was furnished in spite of an opportunity given by the university.
The petitioners were pursuing different courses, including B.Ed, MA, MBA, LLB, M.Sc and M.Com, in the KU on the basis of passing the qualifying examination from EIILM University.
The respondent-university, in its reply, claimed the petitioners had not disclosed whether or not they had passed the qualifying examination by way of regular mode or through distant education. Regular courses offered by the university were recognised by the UGC or AICTE. But distant education courses were recognised by the Distance Education Council and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
EIILM University was approved by the UGC and its regular courses were recognised as such. But distant courses were not approved by the DEC. A communication dated August 21, 2012, had also been received from IGNOU that EIILM University, Sikkim, was not recognised by the DEC.
Taking up the matter, Justice Sandhawalia concluded: “In the absence of the petitioners having attended classes in any institute which is affiliated to the EIILM University or its study centre within Sikkim, it is apparent the petitioners have got degrees by way of distant education while sitting in Haryana, of which they are permanent residents.
“Thus, they cannot now turn around and say that merely because they have completed their courses or are half way through the same, they have an absolute right of declaration of the result….
“The university, from the start itself, had started making efforts to verify the mode of study and has even afforded reasonable opportunities also to the petitioners to show cause and supply necessary information regarding the mode of study. The same was never complied with by the petitioners and, therefore, they cannot turn around and contend that there was no opportunity as such…. The decision of the university to cancel the examination and the result of the petitioners is justified and does not warrant any interference.”
