AVINASH SINGH BAGRI AND ORS V/S REGISTRAR IIT DELHI AND ANR (2009) SCC 

FACTS OF THE CASE

A writ petition (C) No. 535 of 2008 has been filed in the court under the Article 32 of the Indian Constitution by Avinash Singh Bagri and five other as they are not being allowed to further proceed their studies in IIT-Delhi due to poor academics in the college exams and are being expelled from the institution.

Background of The Case

The petitioners are members of the SC, ST, and OBC protected classes. They were IIT-Delhi students enrolled in the B.Tech. program. In the academic year 2004–2005, they were accepted into IIT Delhi via the All India Joint Entrance Examination. These petitioners were dismissed from the B.Tech program because they failed to earn the necessary number of average credits during their second year.  Because SC/ST/OBC candidates are not given any coaching or other facilities to enable them to compete with other general category students, more than 90% of SC/ST/OBC students drop out of these higher courses in their first or second year, despite the fact that higher education programs like Medical and Engineering offer reservations. Because of this, there are empty and unfilled reserved seats in higher courses. Approximately 85% of IIT reserved seats were empty in 2008. About 90% of SC/ST/OBC students have dropped out of IIT courses over the past 10 years or have been given failing grades in the first or second year. The Central Government’s and State Governments’ reservations are no longer necessary because OBC, SC, and ST candidates are not given the necessary infrastructure to achieve benchmarks. Depending on the program, the B.Tech course has a duration of 4-5 years and is divided into 8–10 semesters. The aforementioned durations may be extended for an additional two years to allow students to complete the course.

The Standing Review Committee (SRC) of the Senate keeps track of a student’s academic progress at the conclusion of each semester. The SRC will propose that a student’s registration be terminated at the end of each semester if they do not meet the minimal academic standards required to remain enrolled. In order to maintain enrollment, a student in the general category must earn at least 20 credits, and a student in the SC/ST/OBC category must earn at least 16 credits by the conclusion of the second semester. A second-year student must earn at least 50 credits in the general category and 46 credits in the SC/ST/OBC category by the conclusion of the fourth semester in order to maintain their registration. If a student does not complete at least 84, 120, or 156 credits by the end of the third, fourth, or fifth year, their registration may be cancelled.

In contrast to Delhi, students who don’t get the required average credits in their first or second year aren’t kicked out of the IITs at Kharagpur, Bombay, Chennai, Guwahati, and Roorkee. There is a program called the “Slow Track Programme” for these students. There is no “Slow Track Programme” at IIT-Delhi for students who did not earn the necessary credits in the first and second years. The Standing Review Committee (SRC) appropriately established by the pertinent IIT institute provides these students in other IITs with appropriate advice. With the exception of Delhi, all IITs enable students to enroll in summer courses or exams to make up any credits they may have missed during the academic year. However, second-year students at IIT-Delhi are not permitted to enroll in summer courses or exams and are dismissed if they do not make up the necessary average credits.

ISSUES

1. Whether there should be Slow Track Programme in IIT Delhi or not?
2. Whether the SC/ST Students should be expelled or they should be given one more chance?

ARGUMENTS 

When this appeal was scheduled for a preliminary hearing learned counsel Mr. D.K. Garg stated that The average number of credits needed to pass the course are less for SC/ST/OBC students than for students in the general category. In contrast to general category students, who must earn at least 50 credits to stay enrolled after the second semester of the second year, reserved category students only need to earn 46 credits. The “Prospectus” and “Courses of Study” books include the guidelines and standards that will be used to control and evaluate students in that particular year. Every student at the institute has a Course Advisor who is a professor in the department to which they are accepted. Along with watching out for the student’s overall wellbeing, the course adviser assists the student in planning his curriculum. The Senate of the Institute established the “Standing Review Committee” (SRC) and the “Departmental Monitoring Committee” (DMC) to keep an eye on each student’s academic progress.

 Petition deponent also emphasized how each petitioner performed and the actions taken by IIT in addition to general guidelines, procedure, rules, and regulations. He has also reaffirmed the directives issued by this Court and other High Courts to uphold standards and discipline in these institutions. In Writ Petition (C) No.10 of 2009, a comparable counter affidavit was submitted. We believe that duplication is not necessary.

Learned senior counsel Mr. P.P Rao argued by stating facts that to monitor each student’s academic progress, the Institute’s Senate established the “Standing Review Committee” (SRC) and the “Departmental Monitoring Committee” (DMC). In addition to broad guidelines, procedure, rules, and regulations, the petition deponent also stressed how each petitioner performed and the steps taken by IIT. He has also reiterated the orders from this Court and other High Courts to maintain the rules and order in these institutions. An analogous counter affidavit was produced in Writ Petition (C) No.10 of 2009. Duplication, in our opinion, is not required. We have cited specific instances to demonstrate that the petitioners were not entirely to blame for their expulsion, but we also acknowledge that IIT-Delhi implemented some measures that benefited the petitioners in order to uphold and continue their high standards of education. However, the truth remains that despite their best efforts, these petitioners were unable to get the required marks. There is no question that the creamy layer idea does not apply to SC and ST because they are a separate class unto themselves. The State is required by Article 46 of the Indian Constitution to safeguard the weaker segments of the population from social injustice and all forms of exploitation, as well as to advance their economic and educational interests. Even in highly specialized schools like IITs, care must be taken of these economically and socially disadvantaged groups at every stage. They must make every effort to raise them up to par with students in the general category by giving them additional coaching. In Ashok Kumar Thakur v. Union of India & Ors., (2008) 6 SCC 1, the Constitution Bench of this Court reaffirmed each of these tenets.

JUDGEMENT

According to stated facts and arguments by the learned counsel that in spite of this Court’s order, these petitioners were not allowed to enroll in the summer course, there was no provision for appeals until the third year, and candidates who received grades below the minimum were still permitted to enroll in the following academic session by allowing their appeals (authorities are inconsistent in cons). The study period has also been extended to up to eight years and We believe that by giving them one more chance, the ends of justice will be properly served. Of the nine pupils as of this date, three were not interested, and six people alone wish to continue their studies. Therefore, we order the first respondent to reevaluate their case in light of the various factors mentioned above and in light of the peculiar facts, re-evaluate their performance taking note of special features available/applicable to these reserved categories, and come to a conclusion within a period of four weeks starting from the date they receive a copy of this judgment.

The court made it clear that the first respondent, IIT-Delhi, is free to issue the necessary directives after taking into account all the factors listed above, including the Government of India’s policy of granting reservations in order to integrate them into society alongside others.

Hence Court disposed the writ petitions.

REFERENCES

https://indiankanoon.org

https://ww.scconline.com

This Article is written by Ayush Singh of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Intern at Legal Vidhiya.

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