St Stephen’s admissions: HC notice to Delhi University, UGC on college’s petition against varsity’s directives

St Stephen’s College and Delhi University have been at loggerheads over the former’s refusal to do away with interviews for admissions to its general seats. The college last month announced that it will give 85 per cent weightage to CUET score and 15 per cent to the interview.

Refusing to grant any stay at this stage, the division bench of acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta said the matter will be listed for hearing on July 6 along with the already pending plea challenging St Stephen’s College’s decision to continue with interviews in the admission process for undergraduate seats.

“The point is if you are not complying with their other directions, you don’t comply with this. Who is stopping you? It (the next date of hearing) is prior to the examination. All this controversy will arise only after the examination when you insist you want 15 per cent of interview marks to be included. That is the controversy. Why should we waste our time today,” said the bench, while seeking a response within four weeks on the college’s petition.

The court also said that it did not pass any interim order on June 1 when the other petition was heard. “Don’t do it. If your stand is that you are entitled to have 15 per cent marks for the interview and if that is legally the position, don’t comply. What are they going to do,” said the bench, after the court was told that the university has warned the college of consequences in case the prospectus is not withdrawn.

The counsel representing the college submitted that the “University is saying that you withdraw what is actually permitted by the Supreme Court”. The court said that the legal issue will be decided by the court, and no consequence is going to fall on the college before the next date of hearing. However, the court refused to pass a formal order at this stage.

The college in the petition said a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the past has declared that the college “is a Christian minority educational institution and thus entitled to protection under Article 30(1) of the Constitution and quashed the circulars issued by Delhi University prescribing a calendar for admission and the procedure providing selection of students on a uniform basis of marks secured in the qualifying examination”.

It has been further argued that the college has conducted interviews of non-minority students for the last 40 years, and there has been no material change in the admission system from the fact scenario when the Supreme Court gave the decision.

“The only change today is that instead of the candidates’ 12th grade marks, their scores in the CUET will be considered for the 85 per cent weightage. The 15 per cent weightage to the interview remains the same. Even in the facts as were before the Hon’ble Court then, the institution was conducting interviews of both non-minority and minority candidates. When such a practice was subsisting, and was then specifically considered and upheld by the Hon’ble Court in St Stephen’s College (supra), it is not open for the respondent university to today act contrary to a judgment decided inter parties,” reads the petition.

The college in the petition also said that the university insists that the college conduct admissions to undergraduate courses for general students solely through CUET 2022 score and on a single merit list for admission of candidates belonging to the Christian community, regardless “of any denominations/ sub-sects / sub-categories within the Christian community.”