Bengaluru: In view of a large number of precedents, the Karnataka High Court has held that it is high time the Visvesvaraya Technological University takes a call on the maximum duration for the completion of B.E. Course.
The court made the observation in its judgment dated November 17 on a batch of petitions filed by several students who were admitted to B.E. Course either in 2005 or thereafter. They had approached the high court with the grievance that the varsity is not permitting them to continue their course and appear for the examinations on the ground that they have not completed the B.E. Course within an outer limit of 8 years.
They had argued that in some cases the varsity has been consistently relaxing the existing condition of maximum duration of B.E. Course. The advocates had also pointed out to the court that once the students admitted in 2002 were permitted to appear for the examination in June - July 2015. Based on the grounds that some students were even permitted to take 10 to 13 years to complete the B.E. Course, they had sought for direction to the varsity to extend the maximum duration relaxation to them.
Meanwhile, the advocate for the University justified the varsity’s refusal to permit the petitioners to complete the B.E. Course on the expiry of the 8th year while bringing it to the court’s notice the regulation governing the Course of B.E. and B. Tech from 2006-2007. According to the regulation, the candidate shall complete the course within a period of eight academic years from the date of first admission, failing which he or he has to discontinue the course. He further submitted that after 2010, the University has not given any relaxation to any student in the matter of completing the B.E. Course within 8 years.
While stressing a submission that court’s interference in the academic matters is not warranted, the court was of the opinion that the courts do not have the equipment or expertise to deal with the academic matters.
“Which course has to be completed in how many years is to be decided by the academicians, educationalists and experts in the field. But what cannot be overlooked or ignored in these cases is that the varsity has been consistently relaxing the maximum duration condition. The university appears to have put the regulation into a state of disuse; there is abrogation of law by long non-user. Disusing and disregarding the regulation for years attracts the doctrine of desuetude,” court observes, adding that it is not in dispute that many similarly placed students in the past have been given relaxation in the matter of maximum duration by virtue of 8 circulars relied upon by the petitioner students.
If the said benefit is denied to the similarly placed students, it would be violative of the right to equality guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution of India, court said adding that the ends of justice would be met by allowing these petitions in part by directing the petitioning students to submit their individual representations through the College to the respondent University. It shall be done within one week from the date of the issuance of the certified copy of the order, thereafter the university shall consider the anticipated representations as expeditiously as possible and in any case within 10 days from the date of their receipt, court ordered.
It also made it clear that the university is required to consider the anticipated representations in the light of the precedents in the similar cases. The petitioning students were also permitted to appear for the forthcoming semester examination subject to the outcome of the consideration of their representations.
The court also held that if the university resolves to relax the maximum duration condition, the same has to be on a uniform basis and the regulations and relaxations there from have to be the same for all similarly placed students. Insofar as the question of announcing the results of the examinations for which some of the petitioners have already appeared, the court ordered that it depends on the outcome of the consideration of the petitioners’ anticipated representations.
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