Yesterday, On 8th October, The Delhi High Court summoned the Registrar and Dean of Delhi University in a contempt plea filed by St. Stephen’s College, accusing them of jeopardizing students’ futures over personal disputes. The court expressed concern, stating that such actions amounted to “playing with students’ lives.”
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday found Delhi University guilty of “wilful disobedience” in response to a contempt plea filed by St Stephen’s College for failing to comply with the court’s directions.
The court also ordered the registrar and dean of admissions of DU to appear and explain why they should not face punishment.
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In an earlier order dated April 22, 2024, the court had directed that DU must ensure the allocation of postgraduate seats at St Stephen’s College “is not disproportionate.” St Stephen’s College subsequently filed a contempt plea, arguing that, despite the court’s judgment, the seat allocation for the 2024-25 academic year was still improperly conducted.
The college highlighted that DU had once again allocated a disproportionately low number of seats to St Stephen’s compared to other colleges. Additionally, the college claimed that the list of candidates from the minority Christian community, which had been submitted to DU, was not considered, and those students were not granted admission to various postgraduate courses.
Justice Dharmesh Sharma of the Delhi High Court, while holding Delhi University (DU) guilty of wilful disobedience, stated,
“This court is unhesitatingly of the opinion that the concerned officials of the respondent DU, while settling their personal grouses with the management of the petitioner-college, are virtually playing with the lives of students. Such action or deliberate omission is neither acceptable nor sustainable in law.”
The court further criticized DU, saying,
“The respondents are miserably failing to show cause as to what steps they have taken so far to facilitate the admission of the selected students by the petitioner-college in PG courses. At the cost of repetition, inordinate delay on the part of the respondents shall cause irreparable harm to the selected students. It is disappointing to see academics of repute displaying such insensitivity.”
Finding DU guilty of “wilful disobedience by deliberately stalling the implementation of the court’s directions,” the court ordered the registrar and the dean of admissions to appear via video conferencing on October 15 at 2:30 pm to “show cause why they should not be punished in accordance with the law.”