The Delhi High Court has recently sought the response of St. Stephen’s College on an appeal by Delhi University (DU) challenging a prior order. This order allowed the college to conduct interviews for minority students applying for postgraduate courses, allocating 15% of the marks to the interview and 85% to the CUET score.
A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued a notice regarding DU’s appeal against the single judge’s order from April 22.
The single judge’s decision clarified that non-minority students would not face interviews for postgraduate admissions at the college. Their admission would be solely based on their Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores, administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for central university admissions. The judge also mandated that DU ensure proportional allocation of PG seats in the college.
St. Stephen’s College had argued before the single judge that DU was allotting it a disproportionately small number of seats for PG courses compared to other affiliated colleges. In response, DU strongly objected to the college subjecting already shortlisted students to an additional interview round for PG admissions.
DU noted that while other colleges adhered to the university’s selection process, St. Stephen’s College was alone in adding this interview stage. The university’s counsel later stated that DU would not object if the college restricted interviews to Christian minority students and would ensure proportional seat allocation.
The appeal is scheduled to be heard next in October.
