Bombay High Court Upholds Cancellation Of PhD Admission Of Rifle Shooter Who Was Admitted Without Clearing Entrance Test

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court recently upheld the cancellation of admission of a rifle shooter admitted to the PhD programme of the Marathwada University without clearing the PhD Entrance Test (PET) as a special case on the basis of excellence in national sports events.

A division bench Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice SG Chapalgaonkar observed that clearing PET is compulsory and while it might not have been held from 2016 to 2021, this did not justify the Vice Chancellor giving admission without following due process.

“We have no hesitation to hold that the admission of the petitioner was backdoor entry to Ph.D. programme. The petitioner contended that PET was not held from 2016 to 2021. Though this appears to be a true fact but it cannot be taken as a justifiable ground for Vice Chancellor to admit her for the Ph.D. course…There might be many students during said period who would have been deprived because of non-holding of PET. Everyone cannot be considered eligible for admission on that ground. In absence of any special powers to Vice Chancellor, entire procedure gets vitiated ab initio”, the court held.

Shilpa Chavan filed the present writ petition seeking to quash a letter dated June 6, 2023 issued by the University cancelling her admission to the PhD course. She also sought direction to the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University to enrol her in the degree of PhD.

According to the petitioner, she acquired a postgraduate degree in MSc Botany in 2018 and intended to pursue higher studies in the same field. She was also a national-level sportsperson, awarded a Silver Medal in Rifle Shooting.

The petitioner had applied to the University for admission to PhD programme in Botany from Vice Chancellor's quota seeking to be treated as a special case due to her excellence in National Level sports events.

The University granted her admission to the PhD course as a special case in 2019, allowing her to carry out her research under the guidance of Dr. Narayan Pandure. However, last year, her admission was cancelled.

The petitioner claimed that the University's decision to cancel her admission was arbitrary and detrimental to her career advancement, given that she had already completed her research and submitted the thesis.

However, the University argued that her admission was inconsistent with UGC regulations, which require admission to the PhD course only through a Ph.D. Entrance Test (PET) followed by a presentation before the Research Recognition Committee (RRC) of the University. Further, similar action had been taken against other candidates for admission without due procedure, it stated.

The court examined the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Awards of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degrees) Regulations, 2016 and observed that admission must be through a PET conducted at the level of the individual University. The University's Ordinance also stipulates that apart from meeting eligibility criteria, candidates must pass the PET to be eligible for admission, the court noted.

The court found that she had never appeared for the PET and was admitted under the Vice Chancellor's special powers. The court found no provision under UGC Regulations or University Ordinance or the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 allowing the Vice Chancellor to admit students outside the process of PET.

Despite the petitioner's argument of being admitted under special circumstances due to her sports achievements, the court concluded that her admission was a backdoor entry, not eligible for protection.

The court cited various precedents emphasizing that admitting students outside the prescribed procedure would perpetuate illegality. The court further stated that the petitioner was aware of the admission procedure and the requirement of clearing PET.

Consequently, the court dismissed the writ petition, upholding the University's decision to cancel the petitioner's admission.

Case no. – Writ Petition No. 7795 of 2022

Case Title – Shilpa Gorakh Chavan v. University Grants Commission and Ors.

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