AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
Sanjeev Kumar, J
With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the petition is taken up for final disposal.
The petitioner is aggrieved of and has called in question the selection Notification No.03 Session- 2022 (IG Programmes) dated 2nd August, 2022 issued by the Cluster University, Srinagar to the extent the respondent-University has selected respondent Nos. 5 to 7 for admission to Post-Graduation (Integrated) in the subject of Zoology. The petitioner also prays for a writ of mandamus directing the respondent-University to treat and select the petitioner for admission to the said course in the category of Scheduled Tribe.
The respondent-University, in terms of Admission Notification No.02-CUS of 2022 dated 03.03.2022, invited online applications from eligible candidates for admission on provisional basis to various 5-Year Bachelor’s plus Master’s Integrated PG Programmes for the Session-2022. The said admission notification invited applications, inter alia, for admission to Integrated PG Programmes in the subjects of Environmental Science and Zoology. As per the admission notification, online application forms were made available to the eligible candidates by the University on its website from 04.3.2022 and the last date for submission of online application forms was 12.03.2022. It is pertinent to notice that the said notification would also indicate that the candidates desirous of making application for multiple subjects were required to submit their online preferences for selection in the notified Integrated PG Programmes.
The petitioner being eligible, in terms of the prescribed eligibility criteria, submitted her online application for 5 year Integrated Master’s Programme and made her first preference for the Integrated Post-Graduate Programme of Zoology followed by second preference for Environmental Science. The petitioner was indicated to have secured 94.6 academic merit points on the basis of her 10+2 qualification. The respondent-University issued selection notification No.01 Session-2022 (IG Programmes for OM candidates) dated 14.07.2022 in which the petitioner was shown at serial No.06 for the Environmental Science and, thus, provisionally selected for the Integrated Programme in Environmental Science. Similarly, the respondent-University issued the selection list of candidates for Integrated Programme in the subject of Zoology for open merit candidates only. The petitioner could not make it to the selection for the aforesaid course in the open merit. Though, the petitioner had been selected for admission to the Integrated Programme in the subject of Environmental Science but she chose not to seek admission in the aforesaid subject and instead waited for the first list of ST candidates to be issued for the subject of Zoology, which was the first preference of the petitioner. The petitioner was sure that she would make it under the ST category, for, her academic merit worked out by the respondent-University was 94.6, good enough to bring the petitioner at Serial No.1 in the merit list of ST category candidates.
The respondent-University, which was supposed to issue the entire list in one go, chose only to issue the select list of open merit category candidates in the first instance. The University, however, issued the selection notification No.3 for the Integrated Programmes in various subjects. Due to failure of the petitioner to join in the Environmental Science, the petitioner was excluded and some other candidate next in merit and preference was upgraded and selected in place of the petitioner in the subject of Environmental Science. It is while issuing the second list and upgrading the candidates in different subjects, the respondent-University also issued selection list of reserved category candidates including the candidates under ST category for the Integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology. The last selected candidate under the ST category in the discipline of Zoology was indicated to have secured only 87.4 academic merit points. However, the petitioner with the better academic merit points i.e. 94.6 was ignored.
As is the stand of the respondent-University, spelled out by Dr. Khurshid Ahmad Mir, Incharge Registrar, Cluster University, Srinagar, who was present in the Court on 26th August 2022, the petitioner was not selected under the reserved category of ST in the discipline of Zoology in view of Clause-8 of the selection notification, which provides that “No up-gradation of programme/course as per preference given by the candidate shall be allowed, if the candidate fails to complete the admission formalities in the programme/course for which he/she has been selected”. This exactly is the stand of the respondent-University in the reply affidavit filed on 24th August, 2022. There is no other reason indicated by the respondent-University to deny admission to the petitioner in the integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on record, I am of the view that respondent Nos.2 to 4 have arbitrarily and unfairly excluded the petitioner from the select list of ST category for integrated Master’s Programme in the discipline of Zoology. It is true that Clause-8 of the selection notification provides that no up-gradation of the programme/course as per preference given by the candidate shall be allowed if the candidate fails to complete the admission formalities in the programme/course for which he/she has already been selected, but the instant case is not a case of up-gradation on the basis of preference given by the candidate. It is not in dispute that the select list of the ST category for admission to Integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology was issued for the first time vide Selection Notification No.03 dated 02.08.2022 and it was only after the select list for admission in the ST category candidates was issued, the petitioner came to know that she despite being more meritorious than the candidates indicated in the selection list under ST category has been ignored.
Had the respondent-University issued the select list of ST category candidates also along with the open merit candidates vide Selection Notification No.01 Session-2022 (IG Programmes for OM candidates) dated 14.07.2022, the petitioner would have been at Serial No.1 in the select list of ST category candidates for Integrated PG Programme in Zoology. She would have been shown as selected in the open merit for Integrated Programme in Environmental Science as also at serial No.1 in the list of ST category candidates for Integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology. In such a situation, the petitioner would have no difficulty in making her choice and seeking admission in the discipline of Zoology, which, in any case, was her first preference. Difficulty, however, arose due to inability or failure of the respondent-University, as the case may be, to issue the select list of reserved category candidates also along with the open merit category candidates for Integrated Programme in Zoology.
Registrar of the respondent-University appearing in person tried to explain the difficulty and indicate the reason as to why the entire select list containing the selection of open merit as well as reserved categories candidates could not be issued by the University.
Whatever be the reason but the fact remains that the petitioner’s claim to be selected for admission to Integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology under ST category is not one of up-gradation by way of preference but is a right of seeking admission in the first list under ST category. The respondent-University has, thus, mistakenly treated the case of the petitioner as one for up-gradation as per the preference. When the situation was put to Registrar of the respondent-University, he could do no better to explain the situation.
For the foregoing reasons, I find merit in the plea of the petitioner. The writ petition is, accordingly, allowed and the petitioner is held entitled to admission for Integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology for the Session 2022 run by the Cluster University, Srinagar under ST category. This Court is not disturbing the admission of any of the private respondent for the reason that the Registrar of the respondent-University assured this Court that in case any directions are issued by this Court, the petitioner would be accommodated without disturbing the private respondents. Let the respondent-University take immediate steps to select and admit the petitioner to the Integrated Master’s Programme in Zoology for the Session-2022.
Before parting, it is apt to say that present case has been decided on its own merits and shall not be a precedent to be followed for opening up the admissions for which the process is already over.