The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest lawsuit filed by the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) contesting Delhi University’s policy of considering only Class XII grades for college admission (Delhi University Students’ Union v. UOI and Ors).
The petition was dismissed by a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh on the grounds that it lacked substance and was filed too late, given that the admission process is reaching its conclusion and the seventh cut-off list has already been announced. Advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing on behalf of DUSU, told the Court that formerly, the University would examine the results of both Class XI and XII exams for boards that used this type of marking scheme. This year, however, a new procedure has been implemented, with only Class XII scores being evaluated.
According to him, this has put state board students in Kerala at a disadvantage and caused misunderstanding among colleges. Dixit went on to say that despite the DUSU’s representation to the Vice-Chancellor, he has yet to make a judgement. The University, on the other hand, claimed that in its June admission bulletin, it stated that only Class XII scores would be considered, and that applicants should only fill up their Class XII marks on admission forms.
Even the Kerala board has distinct columns for Class XII grades, according to University attorney Mohinder Rupal. He further questioned the DUSU’s jurisdiction in filing the petition, claiming that no student from Kerala or any other board has challenged the policy in court. Despite the fact that DUSU had jurisdiction to file the challenge, the Bench determined that the petition lacked substance and was “very late.”
