Writ Petition No. 4401 of 2016. Case: Sanchita Sunil Bhadani Vs The Principal, Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and Ors.. High Court of Bombay (India)
| Case Number | Writ Petition No. 4401 of 2016 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: Mr. Mukesh Vashi Sr. Counsel with Mr. Yatin Shah and Mr. Harsh Shah, Advs. and For Respondents: Mr. Neel Helekar, Ms. Ujwala Sawant i/b Mr. R. V. Govilkar, Mr. Mohammed Asadullah Shaikh i/b Mr. Rui Rodrigues, Ms. Sushma Bhende Assistant Government Pleader |
| Judges | S. C. Dharmadhikari & G. S. Kulkarni, JJ. |
| Issue | Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994; Constitution of India - Articles 14, 226 |
| Judgement Date | April 18, 2016 |
| Court | High Court of Bombay (India) |
Judgment:
G. S. Kulkarni, J.
-
The petitioner who is a student of the Engineering Course in the faculty of Information and Technology (for short "the said Course") being pursued at the Respondent No.1 -- Institution has filed this Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of mandamus against the Respondents for the following reliefs:-
"(a) (i) allow the Petitioner to appear for the Viva Voce examinations for the sixth semester in the engineering course in the Information Technology faculty (CBGS) to be held on 18.4.2016 and the written examinations to be held on 10.05.2016;
(ii) to direct the Respondents to declare results, issue mark sheets and allow the Petitioner in continue studies by giving admission in the seventh and thereafter in the eight semester in the engineering course in the Information Technology faculty (CBGS);"
-
The Engineering Course in question is a four years degree course. Each year is divided into two semesters. On completion of her 12th Standard, the Petitioner obtained an admission for the first year of the said Course for the academic year 201213. The following would have been the normal pattern of academic years if the Petitioner was to pass each of the two semesters in the respective academic years.
Academic Year
Semesters
2012-13
Ist & IInd Semester
2013-14
IIIrd & IVth Semester
2014-15
Vth & VIth Semester
2015-16
VIIth & VIIIth Semester
-
However it appears that academically there were quite some failures affecting the normal pursuit of the course. As can be seen from the petition, during the first year the Petitioner In December 2012, appeared for the first semester and failed in one subject namely in 'Applied Chemistry' which she reappeared and cleared in the examination held in May,2013. Also in May 2013, she appeared for the second semester examination and in which she failed in one subject namely 'Applied Mathematics'. Thereafter, the Petitioner was granted admission to the Second Year (IIIrd and IVth Semesters), for the academic year 2013-14. In November 2013, the Petitioner appeared in the 'Applied Mathematics' paper of the Second Semester in which she again failed. Thereafter, she again appeared in May 2014 in the said backlog paper but failed in this third attempt.
-
Accordingly, upto May,2014 when the Petitioner would in the normal course be admitted to the Third Year (Vth and VIth Semester), she had not cleared the backlog of the IInd Semester in the subject of 'Applied Mathematics'. At this stage, it would be appropriate to make a reference to the relevant Ordinance of the University which would govern the admission of the students to a Third Year. The Ordinance is Ordinance No.3709 which reads thus:-
" O.3709: A candidate who has passed Semester I to Semester IV examinations will be permitted to enter upon the course of Semester V, however, a candidate who has failed in not more than 5 heads of passing of Semester III and Semester IV examinations considered together will also be permitted to enter upon the course for Semester V provided he/she has passed Semester I and Semester II examinations." (emphasis supplied)
A plain reading of the above ordinance makes it clear that to be eligible for admission to the Third Year (V & VI Semester), a candidate would be required to pass Semester I to Semester IV and the candidate who has failed in not more than 5 heads of passing of Semester III and Semester IV examination considered together also be permitted to be admitted to Semester V provided the candidate has passed Semester I and Semester II examination.
-
What is relevant for the purpose of the present case is the eligibility of the Petitioner for admission to the Third year (i.e. Semester V and VI) on account of the Petitioner not passing Semester II examination upto May 2014, when the Petitioner had approached for admission to the third year of the course.
-
It appears that nonetheless the petitioner was granted admission to the 3rd year (Vth & VIth Semester) by Respondent No. 1 college, despite the petitioner not clearing the backlog in the subject of Applied Mathematics of the IInd Semester, as per the requirement of Ordinance 3709. The Petitioner was also permitted to keep terms (A.T.K.T.) as she had also failed in some subjects in the IIIrd and IVth Semesters which she cleared later during the academic year. However, the fact remains that although the Petitioner appeared for III and IV semester examination upto May,2015, the Petitioner did not clear the backlog/failed subject of the II semester (applied mathematics). It was only in November, 2015 when the Petitioner reappeared for the IInd semester, backlog paper in ''Applied Mathematics' she cleared the same. Nonetheless, Respondent No. 1, at...
To continue reading
Request your trial