St. Stephen’s College has filed an appeal against a recent Delhi High Court single bench order that directed the institution to admit seven students based on Delhi University’s seat allocation policy. The college’s challenge was mentioned before a Division Bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who agreed to hear the case on Tuesday.
The dispute stems from a ruling last Friday by Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma, who ordered St. Stephen’s to admit the petitioning students according to the university’s allocation policy used in the previous academic year. The judge emphasized that since the university’s seat allocation calculations remained valid, the college must comply and allow the students to attend classes after completing the necessary formalities.
The case involves two separate petitions filed by seven students contesting St. Stephen’s admission process. These students, allocated seats by Delhi University for various courses at St. Stephen’s, claimed their admissions were not finalized within the prescribed timeframe. While the university supported the students’ claims, St. Stephen’s opposed them.
The college argued that it was not obligated to admit all candidates allocated through the university’s common seat allocation system, citing capacity constraints. Initially, a single-judge bench granted provisional admission to six students, with a seventh student later joining the petition. All petitioners are seeking admission under Delhi University’s ‘single girl child quota.’
(Inputs from ANI)