14 get into PU law course without a test

The university accommodated the 14 after converting into general quota the reserved-category seats that remained vacant after admissions.

Goyal and others were given admission to the prestigious three-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) course in the Department of Laws—more than a thousand students had taken the Other Combined Entrance Test for a seat in the course—on the basis of their marks in graduation,the qualifying examination.

Asked if he had taken any written test for the admission,Goyal replied in the negative. He said it was only after the university authorities wanted to fill the vacant OBC quota seats after converting them to general category that he got the admission,following an interview.

According to sources,students who had earlier qualified the written test but did not get admission were not called for an interview or sent an intimation about the vacant seats. An advertisement in this regard was,however,placed in a newspaper after the normal admissions were over.

As many as 1,320 students had applied for the law entrance test in 2008,of which 1,076 qualified. As many as 527 of them applied for the 300 seats (150 in the morning shift and 150 in the evening).

While 286 students were given admission,14 seats in the reserved category remained vacant. With the Supreme Court issuing an order to fill all seats,the university called a special meeting of syndics on September 4,2008. The last date of admission was August 31. It was decided that the reserved category seats be converted into general category. The university sought a legal opinion on the conversion and permission to admit candidates,even those who had not applied for the test,on the basis of their marks in the qualifying examination. There was little time left to conduct another entrance test,it reasoned.

The legal opinion was received on September 15,a day before a regular meeting of the Syndicate where it resolved and approved the change to give a “fair chance to all candidates”. PU did not seem to consider a second list of general candidates,who had cleared the entrance test but were kept in the waiting list. All 14 new students turned out of be PU officials.

“This is a clear case of favouritism. The seats were converted and given to certain favourites. The entire entrance test was reduced to a farce. Genuine students were overlooked,” said a senior faculty member of the Department of Laws,who did not wish to be named.

Vice-Chancellor R C Sobti,however,said: “It was the Supreme Court’s directive to fill up the vacant seats. First preference was given to OBC students,but since the seats still remained vacant,we considered merit,in accordance with the Syndicate and Senate decision,and admitted qualifying candidates. I am not much aware about the rest,as the V-C has no role to play in such admissions.”