Late Ineligibility Decisions in Law Admissions: Bombay High Court Ruling in Favor of Student’s Continuation.


15 January 2024 Education >> Miscellaneous  

This petition of Rohan Ravindra Thatte v/s University of Mumbai through its Vice Chancellor, Mumbai & Others, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenges the University’s decision declaring the petitioner ineligible for admission to the 3-year LL.B. course after completion of two semesters. The petitioner had successfully cleared the State Common Entrance Test (CET) in 2021, secured admission based on his application and documents, and had completed two semesters. However, on 17th December 2022, the University notified the petitioner that he was ineligible due to not meeting the minimum percentage requirement as per Ordinance 0.5078, which mandates a minimum of 45% in the qualifying degree.

The petitioner argued that the ordinance was not applicable to his case, as the CET was conducted by the State, not the University, and he had been allotted a seat after fulfilling all requirements. Additionally, he contested the claim of ineligibility, pointing out that there was a misunderstanding in calculating his marks. The petitioner also relied on a similar case where the court allowed a student to complete their course despite eligibility issues raised later in the course.

 
 

The court referred to a previous ruling where the eligibility of a student was questioned after completing a significant portion of the course and noted that such late objections were unfair. The court found that since the petitioner’s CET was conducted by the State and not the University, Ordinance 0.5078 was not applicable, and thus, the petitioner should be allowed to complete his LL.B. course.

Court’s Order:

  • The communication declaring the petitioner ineligible was quashed.
  • The petitioner was directed to be allowed to continue and complete his LL.B. course.
  • The respondents were directed to declare the results of the semesters that had been withheld.


Section 226, Constitution of India - 1950  
Constitution of India, 1950