Delhi University is adamant that interviews for the 50% of general category applicants seeking admission to the institution cannot be held at St. Stephen’s College. DU said in a letter to the principal on Monday that interviews would result in “discrimination” in the admissions process and that the Supreme Court ruling that the college used to get around the “only-CUET score” standard bore no “direct significance.”
Last Monday, the Delhi High Court ruled that the college cannot interview undergraduate applicants who fall under the “non-minority category” and ordered it to admit them purely on the basis of CUET scores. According to DU’s orders, it had instructed the institution to withdraw its entrance prospectus, which said that interviews would be a part of the admissions process, and to publish a notice informing the public of the changed admissions process.
The institution has not published a public notice informing the public of any change in procedure, thus the admission prospectus is still available on the website.
“The petitioner college is therefore ordered to adopt the Delhi University (DU) admission policy for the academic year 2022–2023 to this extent. A bench of chief justice Sharma and justice Prasad ruled in a judgement that the college must also withdraw its admission prospectus and issue a public notice announcing the modified admission procedure in compliance with the subsequent communication of May 25.
The court ruled that the right under Article 30(1), granted to a minority institution like Stephens, is not absolute and that the state has the right to create rules governing the management of a minority institution, provided that doing so advances the interests of the minority community and seeks to prevent the minority institution from being improperly managed. The court stated: “Aided minority education institutions that are associated with the university must adhere to the rules and practises of the said University.
However, the bench ruled that Delhi University (DU) cannot insist on a single merit list for admission of applicants from the Christian community, regardless of their affiliation with any particular denomination, sub-group of people, or sub-activities.
“The petitioner filed the PIL on behalf of the second respondent Delhi University collusion. The petitioner’s supporting documentation for the PIL makes this clear. The source from which the petitioner received the minutes of the meetings of the statutory committees, executive Council, academic Council, letters issued by the authorities of DU, etc. that are annexed with the petition, among other documents, must be explained to this court, the institution had stated.
