The High Court of Delhi on Friday, September 6, 2024, stated St. Stephens College, DU, to grant permanent admission to seven students who were allocated their seats in the college through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).
These 7 students approached the High Court and filled out the petition against St. Stephens, as the college was not giving seats to them even after they got selected for various courses like BA Economics (Hons) and BA Program through Delhi University’s CSAS after clearing CUET.
St. Stephens reasoned for not giving seats to 7 students by opposing Delhi University’s centralized system of seat allocation and said that they can only admit the students within its sanctioned capacity. Before CUET came into the forefront, the college used to take admission through interviews, but after DU started taking admission through CUET scores, DU opposed this practice of St. Stephen’s. But despite all this, the college still argued for its autonomy in conducting interviews for taking admissions.
Due to all these differences between DU and St. Stephens, applicants were caught in a catch-22 situation and ultimately filed a petition in high court. Earlier, the High Court asked the college to give the temporary admission to these students till the time the final verdict was not declared so that their studies would not be affected. Now, when the final verdict came out, it was in favor of students only; hence, the High Court gave its final verdict for this, giving permanent admission to these students.
One of the 7 students sought admission under Delhi University’s “single girl child quota,” according to which one seat is reserved in each course for eligible candidates. The High Court also stated that the college cannot go against Delhi University’s quota and that the college should adhere to the university’s guidelines and policies as the college is not different than other DU colleges.
The Court said that those colleges that have injustices regarding seat allocation will file their grievances three months before the commencement of the admission process, and the same will have to be decided within two months of the receipt of the complaint.
The tension between the university and the college highlights the broader debate between institutional autonomy and centralization in higher education. But despite all these difficulties between both of them, students should not suffer and this is shown by the High Court as they understood the student’s dilemma and gave their verdict in support of the best for students.
