HC allows minority student to attend classes in St Stephen’s amid seat row

The Delhi High Court on Monday granted a minority category student permission to attend classes at St Stephen’s College while a dispute over seat allocations between the college and Delhi University (DU) remains unresolved.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was addressing appeals from both the college and the student regarding a previous decision that denied the student admission.

“The fact that the single judge found 18 students entitled to admission and one seat vacant in the combination opted by the appellant student allows us to permit him to attend classes until further orders,” the Bench ruled.

The court emphasised that the college must not allocate any further seats under the minority quota category until it issues further directives. “Let any such vacant seats go waste,” the Bench added, highlighting its commitment to ensuring proper adherence to the admission process.

The hearing focused on appeals against an October 14 ruling by a single judge, which concluded that 18 out of 19 students were eligible for admission based on merit. The college had sought directives from DU to approve a list of minority candidates for admissions, arguing that their admissions were within the college’s sanctioned intake.

The student, who became the focal point of the appeal, claimed a seat had become vacant after another student declined it. He sought admission to the Bachelor of Arts course. However, DU opposed the appeals, arguing that the college should not be allowed to “juggle” its allotted seats by altering the seat matrix.

In its defence, DU asserted that the college had allocated seats based on “whims and fancies” rather than adhering to the established seat matrix. Conversely, the college maintained that admitting the 19 students fell within its permissible limits.