SC refuses to stay Delhi HC order directing St Stephen's College to adhere to DU admission policy
The Supreme Court heard St Stephen's College's appeal against a Delhi High Court order which asked to follow Delhi University's admission policy. "We see no reason to stay the judgement," a bench led by Justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar said.
FollowThe Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Delhi University's St Stephen's College seeking a stay on a Delhi High Court order asking to follow the DU admission policy, following which 100 per cent weightage has to be given to the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) 2022 score when admitting non-minority students to its undergraduate courses.
"We find no reason to stay the judgement," said a bench comprised of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar. "However, what action will be taken in response to the admission process will be subject to the final outcome of the petition," it said, setting the hearing for mid-March.
The high court ruled that the college could not conduct interviews for non-minority students and that admission should be based solely on CUET scores. The high court also stated that under the Constitution, the rights granted to a minority institution could not be extended to non-minorities. It stated that while the college has the authority to conduct interviews in addition to the CUET score for the admission of Christian students, it cannot compel non-minority candidates to do so.
The college, for its part, stated that it would give the CUET score 85 per cent weightage and physical interviews 15 per cent weightage for "all categories of candidates."
While asking St Stephen's to withdraw its prospectus granting 15 per cent weightage to interviews for admission to these unreserved seats, in addition to taking a candidate's CUET score into account, the HC bench ruled that the DU "cannot insist upon a single merit list for admission of candidates belonging to the Christian community regardless of denomination, etc." The order came in response to petitions filed by a law student and the college challenging the legality of the procedure for admitting students to unreserved non-minority seats for UG courses.
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