St Stephen's PG Seats Allocation: Delhi High Court Holds DU Officials Guilty Of 'Wilful Disobedience'

The case relates to a petition filed by St. Stephan College, which sought the allocation of a proportionate number of PG seats by the DU or alternatively, the formulation of guidelines for allocation of seats in PG courses.

On 22 April, a single judge bench directed the DU to ensure the allocation of PG seats in St Stephen's College was not disproportionate. The petitioner-college argued that despite the Court's order, the DU has allocated extremely low number of seats to it compared to other colleges.

St. Stephan College (petitioner) sought contempt action against the DU officials (respondents) for wilful disobedience of the Court's order.

Justice Dharmesh Sharma observed that St. Stephan College had supplied the list of selected students to the DU in July and followed it by repeated emails and requests to admit the students in the PG courses.

The Court noted that the inaction of DU in admitting the students has put them at risk for not meeting the UGC teaching days' requirement and not knowing where they stand in pursuing their PG courses.

Noting that the DU failed to ensure timely admission, it remarked “It is manifest that there has been no response from DU to the aforesaid emails, requests, or persuasions. There has been stoic silence on the part of the respondents since the time list of the selected candidates was furnished to them. The focus thus shifts from the quota issue to the responsibility of the DU in ensuring timely admissions, considering the academic consequences for the students involved.”

The Court observed that the DU has reduced the seats in PG courses compared to the previous years. It noted that the DU has not formulated any policy or guidelines to govern the allotment of PG seats in various colleges to date.

The Court remarked that the respondent officials of DU are playing with the lives of students while 'settling their personal grouses' with the management of St. Stephan. It said, “It is disappointing to see academics of repute displaying such insensitivity.”

The Court thus found the respondent officials guilty of committing wilful disobedience of the Court's directions. It directed the Registrar and Dean of Admissions of DU to appear before the Court to show cause as to why they should not be punished.