TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (11) TMI 1291
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....e said appeals is identical and he has argued them as one only:- Sr. No. Appeal Number Arising from Against the judgment dated 1. LPA No. 956/2013 W.P.(C) No. 7177/2013 27th November, 2013 2. LPA No. 189/2014 W.P.(C) No. 7425/2013 27th November, 2013 3. LPA No. 210/2014 W.P.(C) No. 1181/2014 20th February, 2014 4. LPA No. 211/2014 W.P.(C) No. 1179/2014 20th February, 2014 5. LPA No. 213/2014 W.P.(C) No. 949/2014 7th February, 2014 6. LPA No. 214/2014 W.P.(C) No. 946/2014 7th February, 2014 7. LPA No. 215/2014 W.P.(C) No. 1180/2014 20th February, 2014 8. LPA No. 216/2014 W.P.(C) No. 8119/2013 19th December, 2013 9. LPA No. 400/2014 W.P.(C) No. 2835/2014 6th May, 2014 10. LPA No. 401/2014 W.P.(C) No. 2065/2014 31st March, 2014 11. LPA No. 564/2014 W.P.(C) No. 5186/2014 14th August, 2014 12. LPA No. 596/2014 W.P.(C) No. 5843/2014 4th September, 2014 3. The position which emerges is as under: (a) Clause 1 of the Ordinance V of the University of Delhi made / issued in exercise of powers under Section 30 of ....
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....rses to be pursued by them, attendance at lectures or sessional or other work or the examination of candidates and authorize what is proper to be done instead in such cases, provided that no such exemption and authority shall be deemed to have been granted unless not less than two thirds of the members present of the Academic Council voted in favour of the motion for such exemption and authority made by, or with the written authority of the Vice-Chancellor; and Provided further that this two-thirds majority voting for the exemption should not be less than half the total strength of the Academic Council at the time."; (e) the Academic Council of the University of Delhi, in exercise of powers under Ordinance X-C supra, in the meeting held on 17th February, 1975 passed the following Resolution:- "ACADEMIC COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO.228 DATED 17.2.1975 228. The Council took up for consideration the cases of students involving late admissions, permission to appear at the examinations beyond the permissible span period, relaxation of requirements of attendance at lectures etc. etc. The Council was of the view that in order to have a consistent approach in such matters and to save t....
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....013-2014/59 Delhi, the 14th March, 2013 NOTIFICATION Subject: Grant of Special Chance to students beyond the prescribed Span period. 1. In partial modification of the University Notification No. OSD -(CE)/2012/182 dated 10th Oct., 2012, it is notified that in order to mitigate the hardships of the students, as a purely one time measure, the students may submit their applications for grant of special chance to enable them to appear in their backlog papers of Undergraduate/Post-graduate courses with the specific recommendations of the Principals of their respective Colleges/Heads of Departments, alongwith the required documents, latest by 5th April, 2013 for consideration of the competent authority. 2. It may be noted that applications of only those students shall be processed for consideration of the competent authority in whose cases the subjects/papers have the same or similar course titles and have substantially the same course contents. Further, the cases of old students in which neither the papers with similar titles nor the course contents are found to be the same or similar shall not be processed for consideration. 3. The applications received will be scrut....
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....cademic Council of the respondent University of Delhi to complete a course / programme of study by taking the examination beyond the span period prescribed for that course, is bad and the appellants are entitled to have their requests for a special chance for appearing in the examination beyond the span period considered by the Standing Committee constituted for the said purpose by the Academic Council of the respondent University of Delhi; and (v) that the notification dated 10th October, 2012 in any case is prospective and cannot affect the appellants. 5. Per contra, the counsel for the respondent University of Delhi has supported the judgments of the learned Single Judge of dismissal of the writ petitions challenging the Notification dated 10th October, 2012 (supra), (from which these appeals arise) holding that Ordinance X-C does not empower the University to permit a student to continue in the course / programme in case he fails to complete the said course / programme within the span period prescribed for that course in Appendix-II and that the relaxation granted by the University in the past was not authorized and was beyond the powers of the University. He has further c....
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....he Registrar vide Notification dated 14th March, 2013 was a one time measure; (k) that the Notification dated 14th March, 2013 was issued in exercise of powers of the Vice Chancellor under Statute 11-G(4) to, in an emergency, take immediate action; 6. LPA No. 434/2014 impugns the judgment dated 7th May, 2014 of the learned Single Judge of dismissal of WP(C) No. 2865/2014 preferred by the appellants therein. The said writ petition was preferred impugning the refusal of the University of Delhi to conduct special examination for the students who could not clear all the papers of three year Degree Course [B.A. (Pass) and B.Com. (Pass)] within the span period of six years therefor and though were allowed to appear in a special examination held for them but could not reach the venue of the examination by 1500 hrs i.e. within 30 minutes of commencement of the examination scheduled from 1430 to 1730 hours and were late by 2 to 5 minutes in reaching the venue of the said special examination for reasons beyond their control; axiomatically a direction to the University to hold another special examination was sought. The learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition holding tha....
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....nt Delhi University has drawn attention to the relevant rule printed at the back of the admission card for the said examination advising the candidates to reach the examination centre at least half an hour before the commencement of the examination and cautioning them that they will not be allowed to enter the examination hall after half an hour of the commencement of the examination. He has also contended that the appellant is not entitled to any relief also for the reason of laches. It is contended that though the cause of action accrued to the appellants on 20th August, 2013 or latest on 8th November, 2013, the writ petition from which this appeal arises was filed only in May, 2014. It is argued that the appellants, after learning of the pendency of the other matters aforesaid have merely taken a chance. It is also informed that though about 20 students had so reached the examination venue late on 20th August, 2013 but only 9 filed the petition and this appeal. 10. The counsel for the appellants in LPA No. 434/2014, after the judgment had been reserved has handed over copies of the judgments of the Division bench of this Court in Surender Singh Vs. D.S.S.S.B. 156 (2009) DL....
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....013 in rejoinder contended that the judgment aforesaid of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh does not apply. He has further contended that Ordinances are delegated legislation and not merely executive acts but legislative acts and can be challenged on the ground of arbitrariness. Reliance in this regard is placed on Man Singh Vs. State of Haryana (2008) 12 SCC 331, Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Corporation Federation Vs. B. Narasimha Reddy (2011) 9 SCC 286. 14. We have considered the issue at hand. 15. At the outset we may state that the students cannot be said to have any right to complete the course / programme to which they have sought admission, in whatever time they may deem proper, particularly when the rules of the University provide otherwise. The students having taken admission to a University, are governed by the rules and regulations thereof. They even otherwise have no right to claim that there should be no span period for completing an educational course / programme or as to what the said time period should be or whether there should be any provision of relaxation therein or not. No such right was argued by any of the counsels inspite of our specifically posing the....
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....952 held that the Parliament as a matter of legislative policy having confined waiver of damages in certain situations only, the Courts could not extend the immunity beyond that laid down by the Parliament. Reference may also be made to Khar Bhan Ram Vs. General Manager, Punjab National Bank MANU/UP/0168/1992 where in the face of the maximum period of probation provided in the rules, it was held that any extension of probation beyond that is void. 17. The reliance placed on Saurabh supra is misconceived. That was a case of admission to an educational institution, for which a particular date and time was prescribed and in which prescription there was no provision for relaxation. It was in that context that the doctrines of act of God, force majeure and impossibility beyond human control were invoked. That is not the position here. Each of the appellants in the present case, inspite of having not completed their respective education courses / programmes within the duration prescribed therefor, have been already granted extra time to complete the same and what they are now seeking is beyond the said extra time also. The same if allowed would make the rule/regulation providing span pe....
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....concerned with rule of promotion in an educational institution, set aside the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court allowing the students to take advantage of the unamended as well as the amended Regulations when the Regulations did not provide so and restored the judgment of the Single Judge of the High Court holding that, to prescribe the academic standards falls exclusively in the domain of special bodies of the University and refusing to interfere with the Regulations of the University which were intended to improve the academic standards. 20. However having said that, we have also wondered whether in fact there should be a span period. The educational courses/programmes with which we are concerned are long term courses/programmes spanning over several years. In such a long time, uncertainties of life can have a play. The question which arises is, whether the expiry of such a span period should be allowed to come in the way of desire for education or completing education. Though in a sense entire life is an educational experience but what is recognized, to enable a human being to achieve higher pursuits or at least get on to a platform to achieve the same, are the e....
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....n other countries especially in the Ivy League Universities, though we found a span period prescribed for foreign students (perhaps to prevent a foreigner from continuing to stay in the country indefinitely in the garb of education) but could not find any such provision for the natives. What emerged was, a practice of acquiring subject-wise credits instead of course wise credit as is prevalent here and perhaps for which reason the need for such span period is not felt with; credit in a particular subject/paper being in itself the educational qualification for such paper/subject. Certainly the educationists manning the respective Universities would be in a better position to judge the same. 23. Education, culture and society, in recent years are evolving rapidly. The ethos, practices and customs of the past are no good today. The pace of life and opportunities have also multiplied manifold. Normally a person should not be tied down for such long duration of three to five years prescribed for completing an educational programme and should have the freedom, if in the interregnum has another opportunity, to avail of the same and the same should not deprive him of completing the course....
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....ucation at the Graduate level is changing all over the world and the Directorate of Education should keep in mind that it has to march in tune with the rest in the onward march in time. A Division Bench of the High Court of Gujarat also as far back as in Gujarat State Cooperative Union Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax MANU/GJ/0040/1992 observed that the changing times and the ever widening horizons of knowledge may bring changes in the methodology of teaching, a shift for the better and that advancement of knowledge brings within its fold suitable methods of its dissemination and it may become necessary to have a different outlook; it is not necessary to nail down the concept of education to a particular formula or to flow it only through a defined channel - its progress lies in the acceptance of new ideas. We have also looked up the rules and regulations of certain newer universities but find the same to be modelled on the old universities only. We are again not aware whether the said newer universities while formulating their policies merely aped the older universities or there was a conscious decision that the decades-old policies are apt in the modern context also. 25. On the ot....
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....y of educational qualification and affecting the rights of those becoming eligible for admission in succeeding years, can be devised. For instance, to ensure that the person so desirous of completing the educational course/programme has not rusted and/or to ensure continuity, as a precondition, he/she can be subjected to an eligibility test. Thus, the appellants/petitioners before us who have been unable to complete their respective educational courses/programmes within the span period provided therefor, can be asked to appear in a test/examination in the subjects which they have already passed/cleared, to demonstrate that the continuity if any required, exists. To get over the issue of such candidates / students blocking seats, facilities and amenities of the Universities, such facilities can be made available to only those who have the requisite attendance in all years/semesters but have been unable to pass the examinations. Yet another thought which comes to us is that instead of a span period of time, the number of attempts to pass the examination in a subject can be prescribed. Another possibility can be, to allow such students/candidates to continue the educational course/pro....
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.... when 200 minds, we expect, after discussion, concluded and resolved that Ordinance X-C applies to span period also, the change thereof by one mind does not inspire confidence. When it is doubtful whether the power to take an important decision lies with an individual or with a group, the collective wisdom is generally preferred to individual wisdom. We are of the view that it is for the Academic Council of University of Delhi to, besides taking a call as directed above, also consider this aspect. We hope when all the members of the Academic Council pool their resources/ideas and deliberate, a right answer will be reached. Reference in this regard may be made to Lily Kurian Vs. Sr. Lewina (1979) 2 SCC 124 where a blanket unguided, uncanalised power given to the Vice-Chancellor of the University to veto the disciplinary action of the managing body of a minority educational institution was held to be violative of the right of administration guaranteed under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. We are also of the view that it would be inappropriate for this Court to interpret Ordinance X-C before the Academic Council which is better equipped has had an occasion to consider the same inas....
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....far as the argument of the counsel for the appellants, of the Universities themselves having in the past allowed persons to appear in the examination beyond span period, is concerned, the same cannot be a ground. If the rules of the University do not allow so, merely because the University itself in the past has acted contrary to the rules would be no ground to grant relief, effectively directing the University to again act contrary to the rules. The principles of negative equality being not envisaged in Article 14 of the Constitution of India (see Union of India Vs. M.K. Sarkar (2010) 2 SCC 59) and the Court in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 being not entitled to direct something to be done in contravention of laws, rules and regulations, negate the said argument. 33. Though the counsel for the appellants in the 12 appeals (supra) also argued on the aspect of prospectivity but without any particulars, basis or the dates. However even if it were to be held that at the time when in all the appellants joined the university, the interpretation of Ordinance X-C as in vogue prior to the notification dated 10th October, 2012 was in force, the same in our view would not vest ....