High Court sets aside Himachal Pradesh varsity selection process for PhD admission

Shimla, July 1

The Himachal High Court has set aside the selection process undertaken by Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) for admission to the Ph.D programme in physical education for the academic session 2023-24.

Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua passed the order on a petition filed by 10 candidates challenging the process adopted by the university on the ground that the entrance test for admission to the Ph.D programme in the Department of Physical Education was not in consonance with the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D Degree) Regulations, 2022.

While allowing the petition, the court held that “the entrance test conducted by the university for admission to Ph.D in physical education for the academic session 2023-24 was not in consonance with the UGC Regulations, 2022.” However, the court granted liberty to the university to hold a fresh selection process in accordance with the law.

The petitioners contended that in pursuance of a notice issued on March 12, 2024, inviting applications for admission to the Ph.D programme through an entrance test for the session 2023-24, they applied for the same to the Physical Education Department. The university conducted an entrance test and declared the results on May 27, 2024. However, the petitioners’ names did not figure on the list of the candidates, who had qualified the written test. After the declaration of the results, the petitioners made a representation to the university on June 4, 2024, with ar grievance that in the entrance test, the allocation of questions were no in accordance with the UGC Regulations, 2022. As per the regulations, the entrance test must consist of 50 per cent questions on research methodology and the remaining 50 per cent questions should be subject specific but in the test conducted by the university, out of 80 questions, only 10 questions were on research methodology. While allowing the petition, Justice Jyotsna observed that the university’s notification did not prescribe the pattern/head-wise percentage of the questions for conducting the test. This percentage of questions and the pattern had been prescribed in the UGC Regulations, 2022.