TMI Blog1975 (11) TMI 167X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ses and complete the three-years course in that manner. The appellant decided to take the benefit of the facility given by the Kurukshetra University and joined the LL.B. Part I classes some time in the year 1971. According to the University statute a student of the Faculty of Law was given the option to clear certain subjects in which he may have failed at one of the examinations before completing the three years course. The students were to appear in six papers each year. In April 1972 the petitioner appeared in the annual examination of Part I but failed in three subjects, namely, Legal Theory, Comparative Law and Constitutional Law of India Subsequently he was promoted to Part II which he joined in the year 1972. Under the University Statute the appellant was to appear in part II Examination in April 1973. On April 26, 1973 the appellant applied for his Roll number to the University in order to reappear in the subjects in which he had failed and to clear them but he was refused permission and according to the appellant without any reasons. The annual examination for Part II was to be held on May 19, 1973 and the appellant approached the University for granting him provisional p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g admitted to the Part II Examination; and lastly the stand taken by the respondent was that the Evening Law Classes were held to benefit the members of the Services and it was incumbent on the appellant to have obtained permission of his superior officers and as he did not do so, the University was well within its rights in refusing him permission to appear at the Part II Examination or in admitting him to Part III Law course. A long counter-affidavit has been filed by the respondent of which some paragraphs are extracted below : 4. Para 4 of the writ petition is rebutted. The petitioner was involved in a case under sections 363 and 366 of the Indian Penal Code. As a result, he was suspended. He remained under suspension till August 23, 1972, when he was reinstated. Consequently, he attended the lectures in Part I. So far as Part II is concerned, the petitioner didn't attend the requisite number of lectures. According to the notice displayed on the notice board of the Department of Laws on January 24, 1973, the petitioner was falling short of attendance by 48 lectures upto December, 1972. There after, another notice was displayed on the notice board on r April 16, 1973, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed that the cancellation of the candidature of the petitioner for LL.B. Part II was not based on any extraneous considerations. Under the rules of the University every student is required to attend the prescribed course of lectures delivered to the class in each of the subjects offered. , I Mr. Sri Krishan was short of attendance which was duly notified on the notice board of the Department of Law twice; once on January 24, 1973 and again on April 16, 1973. The admission of the petitioner to Law course in the University was under dispute as a result of a complaint from the District Education officer, Jind. The petitioner came to the Magistrate on May 18, 1973, with an application that pending final decision of his case, he may be allowed to sit `` in the examination provisionally at his own risk and responsibility. In this application, the petitioner did not mention that he was also falling short in lectures as notified by the Head of the Department of Law. Since the office was closed at that time and the examination was to start at 8.00 a.m. On May 19, 1973, the candidate was allowed to appear in the examination provisionally at his own risk and responsibility. (viii) In re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to the Law Faculty unless he had obtained the permission of his superior officers. In order to appreciate the first contention it may be necessary to extract the relevant portions of the statute contained in Kurukshetra University Calendar Volume I, ordinance X. Clause 2 of this ordinance runs as follows: 2. The following certificates, signed by the Principal of the College/Head of the Department concerned, shall be required from each applicant:- (a) that the candidate has satisfied him by the production of the certificate of a competent authority that he has passed the examinations which qualified him for admission to the examination; and (b) that he has attended a regular course of study for the prescribed number of academic years. Certificate (b) will be provisional and can be withdrawn at any time before the examination if the applicant fails to attend the prescribed course of lectures before the end of his term. The last part of this statute clearly shows that the University could withdraw the certificate if the applicant had failed to attend the prescribed course of lectures. But this could be done only before the examination. It is, therefore, manifest t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... force of the University Statute the University had no power to withdraw the candidature of the appellant. A somewhat similar situation arose in Premji Bhai Ganesh Bhai Kshatriya v. Vice-Chancellor, Ravishankar University, Raipur and others A.T.R. 1967 M. P. 194,197where a Division Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh observed as follows: From the provisions of ordinance Nos. 19 and 48 it is clear that the scrutiny as to the requisite attendance of the candidates is required to be made before the admission cards are issued. Once the admission cards are issued permitting the candidates to take their examination, there is no provision in Ordinance No. 19 or ordinance No. 48 which would enable the Vice-Chancellor to withdraw the permission. The discretion having been clearly exercised in favour of the petitioner by permitting him to appear at the examination, it was not open to the Vice-Chancellor to withdraw that permission subsequently and to withhold his result. We find ourselves in complete agreement with the reasons given by the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the view of law taken by the learned Judges. In these circumstances, therefore, once the appellant was allowed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he should obtain the permission of his superior officers. But as the respondent was bent on prohibiting him from taking the examination he had no alternative but to write a letter per force. It is well settled that any admission made in ignorance of legal rights or under duress cannot bind the maker of the admission. In these circumstances we are clearly of the opinion that the letter written by the appellant does not put him out of court. If only the University authorities would have exercised proper diligence and care by scrutinising the admission form when it was sent by the Head of the Department to the University as Ear back as December 1971 they could have detected the defects or infirmities from which the form suffered according to the University Statute. The Head of the Department of Law was also guilty of dereliction of duty in not scrutinising the admission form of the appellant before he forwarded the same to the University. Moreover, the stand taken by the respondent that as the appellant did not get the requisite permission from his superior officers, therefore he was not allowed to appear at the examination, does not merit consideration, because the impugned order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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