Fifty eight-year-old Ramdas Wavhal’s dream of pursuing an LLB course got a boost on Friday, when the Bombay High Court directed the University of Mumbai to consider his application made in May 2007 and allot him a provisional seat in the Bachelor of Law (LLB) course by December 28.Wavhal, a resident of Dombivli, took voluntary retirement as an assistant manager at the Reserve Bank of India in August 2004. In May 2007, he applied for the LLB course in the university. He says he has the time to pursue the course and would eventually want to provide legal aid to the needy.The court observed that since May 2007 you (university) have been sitting on his application. The court added it is most unfair on the university’s part and is frustrating for a student. Justice F I Rebello and Justice R S Mohite also issued notices to the Union Grants Commission and the Annamalai University to hear them also in the petition. University counsel Rui Rodrigues told the court that though Wavhal claims to be possessing an M Com, he obtained it without a graduation degree, which is a pre-requisite for an LLB course. He also said Wavhal’s commerce degree was issued by an arts faculty. Wavhal’s petition stated he could not complete his education after SSC due to financial constraints. Wavhal cleared SSC in 1970, and got M Com degree from the Annamalai University in May 2004. Though he was admitted to VPM’s TMC College in Thane for the LLB course in 2006, it did not issue an eligibility certificate to him. He moved the court after his repeated queries regarding the certificate were not responded to.
