HC dismisses plea against DU criterion for state board students

The court refused to interfere with DU’s decision, noting that it was allowed to set its own criterion, and courts could not interfere with “ a decision of academic/educational experts.”

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But the court of Justice R S Endlaw also sounded a note of caution for next year’s admissions, directing Delhi University to “reconsider” the rule regarding theory marks “at least three months before the commencement of admissions for the next academic session”.

The court also asked DU to announce its decision “publicly”, “including by communicating it to the various State Boards of Examination for further dissemination to the students who would be eligible and aspiring for admission.”

The petitions had been filed by students from various states including Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, who had challenged a DU circular, which said all subjects must have at least 70 per cent component as theory, which does not include internal assessment or continuous evaluation.

The bench also dismissed a plea contending that state board students should be evaluated on the basis of their overall marks.

The court also lifted the stay granted earlier on the disqualification of the students who had been granted admissions by various colleges without applying the 10 per cent reduction rule.