Delhi HC allows 7 students to attend classes at St Stephens, refrains DU from further allocation of seats
New Delhi: The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday permitted seven students to attend classes at St Stephen's College based on the seat allocations made by Delhi University.
However, the court has directed Delhi University not to make any further seat allocations while the matter remains under judicial consideration.
The bench of acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela also issued a notice and sought responses from both the university and the seven students. The directions come in response to an appeal by St Stephen's College challenging a single judge's order that had granted admission to these students based on the seats allocated by the university.
On Friday, the bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court passed the order and said, that since the university's seat allocation calculation had not been invalidated, St Stephen's College must admit the petitioning students according to the allocation policy used in the previous academic year. The college was directed to ensure the students could attend classes after completing any required formalities.
The High Court's verdict involved two separate petitions filed by the seven students challenging the admission process at St Stephen's College. The court's decision was to mandate that the college adhere to the seat allocation determined by Delhi University and admit the students accordingly.
The petitioners argued that although they had been allocated seats by Delhi University for different courses at St. Stephen's College, their admissions were not finalised within the specified timeframe. The university supported the students' petitions, but St. Stephen's College opposed them.
St. Stephen's College contested Delhi University's position, arguing it was not obligated to admit all candidates who have been allocated seats through the university's common seat allocation system, citing a limit on the number of students it could admit.
The single-judge bench initially granted provisional admission to six students, noting they had met all requirements and were left in uncertainty despite their merit.
However, the college appealed this decision, leading the division bench to bar these students from attending classes until the main petition was resolved. A seventh student later joined the case, with all petitioners seeking admission under Delhi University's 'single girl child quota.'
