The Delhi High Court has allowed 7 students, who sought admission to St. Stephen’s College based on seats allocated by Delhi University, to attend classes. The court also instructed DU not to allocate any more seats for now.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued this order while hearing an appeal by St. Stephen’s College against a single-judge’s ruling that had granted admission to these students. The court asked DU and the students to respond within 4 weeks, setting the next hearing for January 28 of next year.
“The 7 students who approached the court are permitted to attend classes till further orders,” the bench said, adding that no further seat allocations should be made by the university.
On September 6, a single judge had ruled in favor of the seven students, noting that they were not at fault but had suffered due to an ongoing dispute between the college and the university. The judge highlighted that the college’s indecision had left the students in limbo, preventing them from considering other college options.
The students had requested that the college provide them seats in the courses for which they were qualified, specifically under the “single girl child” quota set by DU. This quota reserves one seat per program in each college for single girl children. The students, despite being allocated seats by DU for BA Economics (Honours) and BA programs, faced delays in completing their admissions.
While DU supported the students’ petitions, St. Stephen’s College opposed the university’s position. The college argued that it could only admit students within its sanctioned limits, even though it had submitted a seat matrix to DU offering 13 different BA programs with specific seat allocations.
The court’s decision allows the students to attend classes while awaiting further legal resolution, with a follow-up hearing scheduled for January 2024.
