HC notice to St Stephen's College over admission criteria

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the decision of St Stephen's College to conduct an interview round for admission to the unreserved category for the academic session 2022-23, despite Delhi University's warning.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the decision of St Stephen's College to conduct an interview round for admission to the unreserved category for the academic session 2022-23, despite Delhi University's warning. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta issued a notice to St Stephen's College in the PIL filed by a law student Konika Poddar. The bench has directed St. Stephen's College, Delhi University (DU) and University Grant Commission to file their response in four weeks.

The matter has been listed for July 6, 2022. The petition filed through Advocate Akash Vajpai stated that taking interviews where the award of marks is left to the subjective satisfaction of the selection committee gives ample room for discrimination and manipulation. It is stated that admission in DU's undergraduate courses is ordinarily based on candidates' intermediate marks and in the last couple of years, the cut-off for admission in some of the most sought colleges has remained 100 percent.

Now, a committee constituted by DU has recommended that admission may be carried out through a Common University Entrance Test (CUET). The PIL stated that DU policy specifically says that admission in the general category seats in its minority colleges like St Stephen's will be done only on the basis of marks obtained in CUET while in admission on reserved seats those colleges can give 15 percent weightage to the interview and 85 percent weightage to the CUET score at the time of admission. It is sought that admission should be granted according to the DU's recommendation. (ANI)