Gujarat High Court
Urmila Lakhabhai Barad vs Union Of India on 23 October, 2019
Author: Biren Vaishnav
Bench: Biren Vaishnav
C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9654 of 2019
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2019
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9654 of 2019
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ?
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of India or any order made thereunder ?
========================================================== URMILA LAKHABHAI BARAD Versus UNION OF INDIA ========================================================== Appearance:
MR DHAVAL SHAH(2354) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 MR. S S IYER(6553) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 DS AFF.NOT FILED (R)(71) for the Respondent(s) No. 1 MS MEGHA JANI(1028) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4 ========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV Date : 23/10/2019 CAV ORDER
1. In this petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution Of Page 1 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER India, the prayers in the petition read as under:
"17. A. Your Lordships be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or in the nature of mandamus or certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the impugned decision in ANNEXURE-A hereto and hold that the permission for conversion from full- time M Tech course to part-time M Tech course cannot be denied on the ground of taking a job by the student during the vacation after appearing for dissertation preliminaries after the last day of teaching of the 3rd semester (autumn semester). B. Your Lordships be pleased to hold that the impugned decision in ANNEXURE-A is arbitrary, issued in violation of the principles of natural justice, non-speaking, vague, omits relevant contentions, going beyond the resolution no 13 passed by the Senate at its meeting held on 16.02.2013, discriminatory, and therefore illegal. C. Alternatively, and without prejudice to the preceding prayer, your Lordships may hold that the Petitioner is entitled for parity in treatment similar to treatment/decision meted out to Mr. Modhwadhia Raju Vejabhai during the academic year 2017-18 and thus, the petitioner is entitled to pursue part-time M Tech course in accordance with resolution 13 of Senate minutes dated 16.02.2013."
1.1 The petitioner is constrained to approach this Court as her application regarding conversion of M.Tech full time course to Part Time Course was not considered favourably by the respondents. The Application was rejected by the Institute Academic Advisory Committee in its 38th Meeting and communicated on 4/2/2019 that as per page 31 of the Academic Regulations, permission will be granted regarding conversion of M.Tech full time Course to part time due to employment in the last semester of M.Tech Program. As the petitioner had joined the employment on 27.11.2018 before the due date of completion of the third semester and before Page 2 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER the due date of completion of PG dissertation preliminary examination (scheduled on 3rd December-7th December 2018) as per the academic calendar, it was not appropriate to approve the conversion of M.Tech full time to part time.
2. The facts in brief are as under:
2.1 The Petitioner passed her GATE examination and joined M.Tech in Power Electronics and Electrical Drives in SVNIT Surat on 24.07.2017. The full-time Course of M.Tech is a 2 year course of 4 Semesters and the petitioner would therefore have got her M.Tech Degree at the end of June 2019 session.
2.2 The Petitioner while in her 3rd Semester got an appointment letter dated 12.11.2018 whereby she was appointed to the post of Junior Engineer-Electrical in Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL). On 20.11.2018, the petitioner informed the Head of the Department, Electrical Engineering and requested that her preliminary dissertation examination which was scheduled for 4.12.2018 be pre-poned to 26.11.2018 so that she can apply for extension of the M.Tech Course. On the application, the Head of the Department endorsed the permission and remarked that the petitioner had to apply separately for extension of her course.
According to the petitioner, the last date of teaching of the third semester was 23.11.2018.
2.3 The petitioner joined MGVCL on 27.11.2018 and informed the College accordingly. On 28.12.2018, the petitioner made a representation to convert the course to part time. The Dean made an endorsement that as per Resolution Page 3 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER no. 13 of 16.2.2013 permission can only be granted to students due to employment in the last semester of M.Tech and since the petitioner joined the job in the 3 rd Semester it was not possible to accede to the request. The same is reproduced hereunder for easy reference:
"Reso. 13: "Resolved not to consider the request received from Ms. Urvee Trivedi (P10EC903), student of M.TEch (Electronics Engineering) regarding withheld of her M.Tech dissertation as she was serving at Govt. Polytechnic during dissertation period."
"Resolved, further that following condition should be fulfilled by the scholar(s) for the part time dissertation and will be applicable to all similar cases."
1. Part time dissertation is permitted to those students whose result is withheld due to their employment during the study period.
2. This part time dissertation permission will be granted to all the students due to employment in the last semester of the M. Tech course.
3. The duration of the part time dissertation wuold be for three semester (i.e. one semester more than full time student).
4. The student(s) who has completed their semester regular as per the requirement, than for part time two more semester is required to fulfill condition of the M.Tech course.
5. Candidate who interested to complete part time dissertation they have to register in the odd and even semester of academic year 2013-14. They are also required to pay full fees of the respective semester.
6. Part time dissertation thesis can be submitted after completion of total three semester of dissertation as per the satisfaction of the concerned supervisor.
7. The candidate will not be entitled for any stipend during the part time dissertation work. If any candidate had taken stipend during dissertation work without informing the Institute than he/she has to refund the stipend to the Institute.
Page 4 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER
8. To get stipend without informing the Institute is an offence and likable to persecuted as per law."
2.4 On 8.1.2019, the Supervisor, PG Incharge and Head TED made a representation to the Dean SVNIT stating that the petitioner had completed her project on 26.11.2018 and that she has completed all the requirements and as in a similar case permission was granted, her case for conversion and continuance as a Part Time student be accepted. The petitioner again made a representation on 01.02.2019 pointing out that in a similar case of one Mr. Raju Modhwadia who joined his job on 12.12.2017 during vacation of the third semester, he was granted permission. The request was reiterated on 24.2.2019. A fresh representation was made on 28.3.2019 and also to the Ministry.
2.5 Aggrieved by the denial of the conversion of the course to Part Time as per the communications referred to hereinabove, the petitioner approached this Court with the prayers referred to hereinabove.
3. Mr. S.S. Iyer, learned advocate for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner's request for preponement of the dissertation examination was considered favourably. She appeared for the examination on 26.11.2018 as she had to join her job on 27.11.2018. He submitted that it is true that the academic calendar would end on 7.12.2018, however, all her requirements were completed and she therefore was permitted to appear before the scheduled date. He submitted that the argument that the employment was accepted and she joined before the commencement of the 4th semester will not hold good as in the case of Mr. Raju Modhawadia, he also had Page 5 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER joined during vacation before the 4th Semester and therefore there was hostile discrimination and the petitioner therefore should be treated to have completed her part-time course of M.Tech in June 2019 as her 4th semester would have so ended.
4. Ms. Jani, learned advocate for the respondent has relied on the affidavit in reply filed opposing the petition. She submitted that the petitioner cannot be granted permission to convert her course into a part time course and she joined the employment before the due date of completion of the third semester. The decision denying her permission cannot be termed as arbitrary. She submitted that the petitioner had joined a two year course. The first year of the full time course consists of course works and the second year consists of Dissertation/Seminar. The Dissertation work of one year is carried out in two semesters 3rd and 4th Semester. Dissertation preliminary examination has been scheduled from 3rd December to 7th December. The third semester after the dissertation examination would end on 7.12.2018 as per the academic calendar 2018-2019 and since the petitioner joined the job before that on 27.11.2018 prior to the completion of the third semester she is not entitled to the benefit of conversion.
4.1 Relying on Regulation 13 and the minutes of the IAAC Meetings Ms. Jani would submit that the Regulation mentions that the employment has to be in the last semester of the M.Tech Course whereas the petitioner had secured employment during the 3rd Semester which was to end on 7.12.2018. She submitted that her case cannot be compared with that of Mr. Raju Modhwadia as he took the exams as per Page 6 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER schedule in the 3rd Semester and joined the job after the 3rd Semester in the vacation. The case of Mr. Raju Modhvadia is distinguished by Ms. Jani by contending that in his case the schedule for dissertation preliminary examination was 4th-8th December 2017. He completed the examination as per the Schedule and applied for conversion in the final semester. He joined the job on 12.12.2017 after completing all formalities and he was granted permission from part time to full time.
4.2 In the alternative, Ms. Jani submitted that pursuant to the order dated 23.07.2019 passed by the Division Bench of this Court rendered in Appeal No. 1410 of 2009 and the interim orders in this petition, the respondent Institute has issued a letter dated 31.07.2019 stating that the conversion of the petitioner's dissertation work of M.Tech (Power Electronics and Electrical Drives) full time program into part time has been granted. She however submitted that in compliance of the aforesaid orders and in pursuance of the letter dated 31.07.2019, the applicant is required to register for her 4th semester during July-December 2019 semester and for her 5th semester during January-May 2020 semester.
5. Before proceeding with the matter on merits, it shall be relevant to peruse the course of this petition from the date it was filed. The petition was moved on 16.5.2019 when this Court passed the following order:
"1.The petitioner is undertaking M.Tech course in the department of Electrical Engineering with the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat (SVNIT). She joined in the academic year 2017-2018. She finished her dissertation preliminary examination on 26.11.2018, which was after the last date of teaching i.e. Page 7 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER 23.11.2018.
On her being appointed with the MGVCL, she joined on 27.11.2018. Be it noted that, she was permitted to appear for a dissertation prior to the actual date, on the recommendation made by her guide as well as the head of the department, looking to the fact that she had to join at the appointed place.
2. It is her case that in the case of a similarly situated student one Modhawadia Raju Vejabhai permission for conversion from full time to part time was granted.
3. Mr. Iyer, learned advocate for the petitioner has drawn my attention to such communication granted to similarly situated student dated 01.02.2019 (Pg.
120). According to Mr. Iyer, the case of the petitioner is similar to that of Mr. Modhawadia Raju Vejabhai. Mr. Modhawadia Raju Vejabhai joined on 12.12.2017 which falls during the vacation of the 3rd semester I.e. prior to the commencement of the 4th semester.
4. By the impugned communication dated 04.02.2019, resolution at item No. 4, (Pg. 17) the case of the petitioner was rejected for conversion from full time to part time. Relying on the academic regulations particularly resolution 13 (Pg. 63), it appears that the respondent Institute is relying on clause 2 of resolution 13 which reads as under:-
"This part time dissertation permission will be granted to all the students due to employment in the last semester of the M.Tech course."
5. Pleadings in the petition suggest that there has been recommendations of the head of the department , looking to the fact that she has got "AA Grade" that she be granted permission, however the Institute is refusing this conversion relying on the regulation quoted above.
6. Before approaching this Court, the petitioner student had made representation to the Institute, which is at pg. 128 dated 28.03.2019.
Representations had also been made to the Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System on 05.04.2019. Failing to have Page 8 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER received a response, looking to the fact that the preregistration for the academic year 2019-2020 is to begin from 17.05.2019, having waited for a response, she has approached this Court by way of this petition.
7. Without creating any rights in favour of the petitioner and without prejudice to the contentions that the Institute may have to respond to, the respondent Institute is directed to accept the pre- registration application of the petitioner, subject to further order that will be passed on 22.05.2019.
8. Issue notice to the respondents returnable on 22.05.2019. Direct service today is permitted."
5.1 This order was passed directing the SVNIT to accept the pre-registration application for the academic session 2019- 2020 as the same was to begin on 17.5.2019. Thereafter, this Court while admitting the petition on 28.6.2019 passed the following order:
"Heard learned counsels for the parties. Rule, returnable after four weeks. Ms.Megha Jani waives service of notice of Rule for respondent Nos.24.
Having regard to the submissions made by learned advocates for the parties and more particularly, considering the fact that earlier Mr.Raju Modhvadiya was permitted to convert from full time M.Tech course to parttime M.Tech course before the completion of third semester, the respondents are directed to consider the case of the petitioner on the same lines as the case of Mr.Raju Modhvadiya, for granting registration for parttime course in the 4th Semester. Such registration shall be subject to the outcome of the present petition.
Direct service is permitted."
5.2 Since no permission was taken from the appropriate Page 9 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER authority for conducting the examination prior to the schedule, the matter was referred to the Institute Academic Advisory Committee (IAAC). On 30.1.2019, the IAAC did not approve the conversion as the petitioner joined the employment before the due date of completion of the third semester and before the date of PG dissertation preliminary examination scheduled on 3rd to 7th December. On 11.04.2019 in the 39th IAAC Meeting, the issue was discussed and not approved. On 4.05.2019 in the 43rd meeting of the IAAC the same decision was reiterated that since the petitioner had appeared in the exam prior to the scheduled date she was not permitted to convert.
5.3 The Institute challenged the order dated 28.06.2019 by filing an Appeal before the Division Bench being Letters Patent Appeal No.1410 of 2019. The Division Bench did not entertain the Appeal. Mr. Iyer, learned advocate for the petitioner during course of his submissions had reiterated the submissions extensively relying upon para 8 of the this order of the Division Bench. The Order reads as under:
"8.We are of the view that order under challenge in this Letters Patent Appeal clearly indicates that the interim relief granted is subject to final outcome of the petition. The apprehension raised on behalf of appellant qua the same being treated as precedent may not be sustainable, as such interim order cannot be treated as precedent at all. At the best, the reliance thereof could be placed by similarly situated students but each case is required to be dealt with in accordance with facts of the case. This Court would have perhaps considered interfering, had there been a slightest likelihood of infringement of any academic requirement, presence and attendance requirement or any violation of statutory provisions but in absence thereof, when the denial to conversion is only Page 10 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER based upon mere technicality of 3rd semester not completed, when the request was made and that in itself cannot be said to be so tenable argument for jeopardizing the petitioner's employment opportunity and her aspiration to achieve higher degrees. The petitioner has already completed her dissertation preliminaries (examination) and vacation is about to start, the 4 semester's non-
th starting, primafacie cannot be said to be a so grave impediment in the way of the petitioner in seeking conversion. We therefore do not find any substance in Letters Patent Appeal so as to interfere with the order passed by learned Single Judge."
6. Pursuant to the aforesaid order, it appears that the institute has issued communication dated 31.07.2019 whereby her request for conversion of dissertation work of M.Tech (Power Electronics and Electrical Drives) full time program into part time has been acceded to. It also further states that the petitioner is required to register for her 4 th semester during July-December 2019 semester and for her 5th semester during January-May 2020 semester which is discussed hereinafter in detail.
7. Now today when the Court has finally heard learned advocates appearing for the respective parties, the following facts need to be considered in terms of the Regulation 13 and the Academic Calendar of the Institute. As far as the petitioner is concerned the ACADEMIC CALENDAR reads as under:
SARDAR VALLABHBHAI NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SURAT ACADEMIC CALENDAR FOR the ACADEMIC YEAR 2018-19 (As approved by 42nd Senate dated 27-09-2018) AUTUMN SEMESTER (ODD SEMESTER) Activity Wee Duration k Page 11 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER Pre-registration* - April 25 (Wed) - May 18 (Fri), 2018 1 Payment of Fee and - July 2 (Mon) - July 27 (Fri), 2018 Registration* 2 Commencement of teaching* 1 July 16 (Mon), 2018 3 Last date of payment of fee 3 Aug 03 (Fri), 2018 and registration with fine 4 Autumn Fest 7 Sept. 01 (Sat) - Sept. 03 (Mon), 2018 5 Mid Semester Examination 11 Sept. 24 (Mon) - Sept. 29 (Sat), 2018 6 Diwali break for faculty and 17 Nov. 05 (Mon) - Nov. 09 (Fri), students 2018 7 Submission of the XX Grades 18 Nov. 15 (Thu), 2018 8 Make up tests for Mid-Sem / 18-19 Nov. 16 (Fri) - Nov. 24 (Sat), Practical exams 2018 9 Last day of teaching 19 Nov. 23 (Fri) 2018 1 End-Semester Examinations 20 Nov. 26 (Mon) - Dec. 01 (Sat), 0 2018 1 Assessment and Display of 20-21 Nov. 26 (Mon) - Dec. 07 (Fri), 1 Marks 2018 1 Project (UG) / Dissertation 21 Dec. 03 (Mon) - Dec. 07 (Fri), 2 (PG) Preliminaries 2018 1 Last date of submission of 22 Dec. 10 (Mon), 2018 3 grade sheets to the Exam Section 1 Educational Tours 22 Dec. 10 (Mon) - Dec. 14 (Fri), 4 (Preferably) 2018 1 Declaration of results 22-24 Dec. 11 (Tues) - Dec. 28 (Fri), 5 2018 1 Vacation for UG students 23-24 Dec. 17 (Mon) - Dec. 28 (Fri), 6 2018 1 Vacation for Faculty 23-24 Dec. 17 (Mon) - Dec. 28 (Fri), 7 2018 1 Commencement of the next 25 Dec. 31 (Mon), 2018
8 semester * The dates are different for newly admitted students SPRING SEMESTER (EVEN SEMESTER) Activity Wee Duration k Pre-registration - Nov. 12 (Mon) - Nov. 30 (Fri), 2018 Page 12 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER 1 Payment of Fee and - Dec. 17 (Mon) - Jan 11 (Fri), Registration 2019 2 Commencement of teaching 1 Dec 31 (Mon), 2018 3 Last date of registration with 3 Jan 18 (Fri), 2019 fine 4 Supplementary Exams (Odd 6 - 7 Feb. 04 (Mon) - Feb. 16 (Sat), and Even Semesters) 2019 5 Spring Fest 8 Feb. 22 (Fri-evening) - Feb. 24 (Sun), 2019 6 Mid-Semester Examination 10 Mar. 05 (Tue) - Mar. 11 (Mon), 2019 7 Submission of the XX Grades 16 April 18 (Thu), 2019 8 Make up tests for Mid-Sem / 17 April 22 (Mon) - April 27 (Sat), Practical exams 2019 9 Last day of teaching 17 April 26 (Fri) 2019 10 End-Semester Examinations 18 April 29 (Mon) - May 04 (Sat), 2019 11 Assessment and Display of 18- April 29 (Mon) - May 10 (Fri), Marks 19 2019 12 Project Examinations 19 May 06 (Mon) - May 10 (Fri), 2019 13 Last date of submission of 20 May 13 (Mon), 2018 grade sheets to the Exam Section 14 Vacation for UG students 20- May 13 (Mon) - July 12 (Fri), 28 2019 15 Vacation for Faculty 20- May 13 (Mon) - July 12 (Fri), 28 2019 16 Declaration of results 20- May 14 (Mon) - May 31 (Fri), 22 2019 17 Supplementary Exams (Odd 28- July 08 (Mon) - July 20 (Sat), and Even Semesters) 29 2019 18 Commencement of the Next 30 July 22 (Mon), 2019 Academic Year 19 Last date of submission of - 06/30/19 M.Tech Dissertation 20 Last date of Conduct M. Tech - 07/31/19 Viva-Voce for AY 2018-19 7.1 Let us test this viz-a-viz the academic calendar of Mr. Modhvadia on whose case strong reliance has been placed by learned advocate for the petitioner seeking parity. Mr. Page 13 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER Modhvadia's calendar reads as under:
SARDAR VALLABHBHAI NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SURAT ACADEMIC CALENDAR FOR the ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-18 AUTUMN SEMESTER (ODD SEMESTER) Activity Wee Duration k Pre-registration* - April 17 (Mon) - May 28 (Fri), 2017 1 Payment of Fee and 1 - 2 July 17 (Mon) - July 28 (Fri), Registration* 2017 2 Commencement of 1 July 17 (Mon), 2017 teaching* 3 Last date of payment of fee 3 Aug 04 (Fri), 2017 and registration with fine 4 Mid Semester Examination 10 Sept. 18 (Mon) - Sept. 23 (Sat), 2017 5 Autumn Fest 12 Oct. 06 (Fri. evening) - Oct. 08 (Sun), 2017 6 Diwali break for faculty and 14 Oct. 16 (Mon) - Oct. 20 (Fri), students 2017 7 Submission of the XX 18 Nov. 17 (Fri), 2017 Grades 8 Make up tests for Mid- 19 Nov. 20 (Mon) - Nov. 25 (Sat), Sem / Practical exams 2017 9 Last day of teaching 19 Nov. 24 (Fri) 2017 10 End-Semester Examinations 20 Nov. 27 (Mon) - Dec. 02 (Sat), 2017 11 Assessment and Display of 20-22 Nov. 27 (Mon) - Dec. 09 (Fri), Marks 2017 12 Project (UG) / Dissertation 21 Dec. 04 (Mon) - Dec. 08 (Fri), (PG) Preliminaries 2017 13 Last date of submission of 22 Dec. 11 (Mon), 2017 grade sheets to the Exam Section 14 Educational Tours 22 Dec. 11 (Mon) - Dec. 15 (Fri), (Preferably) 2017 15 Declaration of results 23 Dec. 12 (Tue) - Dec. 18 (Mon), 2017 16 Vacation for UG students 23-24 Dec. 18 (Mon) - Dec. 29 (Fri), 2017 17 Vacation for Faculty 23-24 Dec. 18 (Mon) - Dec. 29 (Fri), 2017 18 Commencement of the next 24 Jan 01 (Mon), 2018 Page 14 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER semester * The dates are different for newly admitted students SPRING SEMESTER (EVEN SEMESTER) Activity Week Duration Pre-registration - Nov. 13 (Mon) - Nov. 24 (Fri), 2017 1 Payment of Fee and 1 - 2 Jan 01 (Mon) - Jan 12 (Fri), 2018 Registration* 2 Commencement of 1 Jan 01 (Mon), 2018 teaching 3 Last date of registration 3 January 19 (Fri), 2018 with fine 4 Supplementary / Backlog 4 - 5 Jan 22 (Mon) - Jan 03 (Sat), 2018 Exams (Odd and Even Semesters) 5 Spring Fest 6 Feb. 09 (Fri-evening) - Feb. 11 (Sun), 2018 6 Mid-Semester 10 Mar. 05 (Mon) - Mar. 10 (Mon), Examination 2018 7 Submission of the XX 16 April 20 (Fri), 2018 Grades 8 Make up tests for Mid- 17 April 23 (Mon) - April 28 (Sat), Sem / Practical exams 2018 9 Last day of teaching 17 April 27 (Fri) 2018 10 End-Semester 18-19 May 01 (Tue) - May 07 (Mon), Examinations 2018 11 Assessment and Display 18-20 May 01 (Tue) - May 11 (Fri), 2018 of Marks 12 Project Examinations 19 May 07 (Mon) - May 11 (Fri), 2017 13 Last date of submission 20 May 14 (Mon), 2018 of grade sheets to the Exam Section 14 Vacation for UG students 20-28 May 14 (Mon) - July 13 (Fri), 2018 15 Vacation for Faculty 20-28 May 14 (Mon) - July 13 (Fri), 2018 16 Declaration of results 20-21 May 15 (Tue) - May 18 (Fri), 2018 17 Summer Semester 19-26 May 08 (Tue) - June 29 (Fri), 2018 18 Summer Semester/ 27-28 July 02 (Mon), 2019 - July 14 (Sat) Supplementary / Backlog , 2018 Exams (Odd and Even Semesters) 19 Commencement of the 29 July 16 (Mon), 2018 next academic year Page 15 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER 7.2 It shall also be relevant to reproduce Regulation 13 which has been extensively relied upon by learned advocate for the respondent. The same reads as under:
"Permission will be granted to all students due to employment in the last semester of the M. Tech program. The students shall apply for permission immediately to the Dean (Academic) in the same semester through his department. The duration of the dissertation would be three semester (i.e. one semester more than the regular student) in such cases. The student, who has completed his/her 3rd semester regular as per the requirement, will require two more semesters to fulfill the condition of the M.Tech programme. The student has to register in the even and odd semester of the academic year and is required to pay full fees of the respective semester. The dissertation thesis can be submitted after completion of total three semester of dissertation as per the satisfaction of the concerned supervisor. The student will not be entitled for any stipend during the dissertation work."
8. Let us now see the timeline in context of both the students and appreciate the same in context of Regulation 13 which is pressed in service. The Regulation states that permission will be granted to all students due to employment in the last semester of the M.TECH Progamme. The regulation further says that in such cases the dissertation shall be for three semesters i.e. one more than the regular student in such cases. Therefore, a student who has completed his/her 3rd Semester will require two more semesters to fulfill the condition of M.Tech Program. Therefore, according to Ms Jani, if the petitioner had completed her third semester and joined the job she would even otherwise have to do one more semester. That would Page 16 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER mean that she would get her M.Tech Degree in December 2019 with the requirement to do one more semester. Her claim that she should be deemed to have committed her M.Tech in June 2019 is therefore even otherwise unjustified.
9. On merits her contention is that, the exam schedule stipulated that the dissertation exams were on from 4th-8th December 2018. She took her examinations on 26.11.2018 and joined the Job on 27.11.2018 before the 3rd Semester was over on 07.12.2018 and therefore as per Regulation the employment was not secured in the last semester of M.Tech. Modhvadia's case is sought to be distinguished against the petitioner on account of the fact that he took the examinations as per the schedule of the Academic Calendar, joined the job in the vacation of 3rd Semester and therefore had completed his third semester.
9.1 Let us test this argument on facts of the case. The petitioner applied and secured a job on 12.11.2018. She requested for pre-poning her dissertation exams from 4th December to 26.11.2018 as she was required to join her job on 27.11.2018. The schedule of the exams was from 4 th-8th December, 2018. The last day of teaching was 23.11.2018. The Supervisor, PG In-charge and the Head of the Department on 09.01.2019 specifically opined as under:
"To, The Dean (Acad) SVNIT Surat 39507 Sub - Regarding the conversion of M.TEch full time to part time due to employment Ref. Letter from H.D Office dated 28.12.2018 Page 17 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER Dear Sir, This has reference to our earlier letter dated 28.12.2018 regarding the above mentioned subject. I would like to bring the following few facts for your kind consideration.
My student Urmila Barad (17E007) has been offered the post of Junior Engineer in Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL). She completed her project preliminary examination on 26.11.2018 and joined the company on 27.11.2018. I humbly state that she has completed all requirements for the completion of third semester before joining the company. Further I would like to mention here that Urmila has passed all the subjects in first attempt and secured the grade of 'AA' in the project preliminary examination. A similar case has been granted permission in the previous academic year. Therefore, I request you to kindly consider the merit of the case and grant her permission to continue her M.Tech programme as a part time student.
All necessary documents are attached herewith for your quick reference.
Yours truly,
sd/- sd/-
sd/-
(R. Chudamani) Manisha D Gohil Dr. S.N.
Sharma
M.Tech Supervisor (PG In-charge (PEFD) Head,
EED"
9.1 Reading of the letter indicates that she has satisfied all the requirements of the third semester and therefore for all purposes the semester had ended. The letter is unequivocally saying that, that was before she joined the company. The only distinction drawn on the basis of the cut-off date of the end of semester and joining by Modhvadia during vacation of 3rd Semester and making out a difference does not sound reasonable. Ms Megha Jani may be right in submitting that the decision may not be arbitrary. True it is that Modhvadia completed his examinations as per academic schedule and Page 18 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER joined thereafter but what is lost sight of is that on an request made by the petitioner to re-schedule her examinations from 4th-7th December slot, her examinations were re-scheduled and she was permitted to appear on 26th November 2018. It cannot now be argued that there was no permission from the appropriate authority to pre-pone the exams. That she was permitted to appear and the request was accepted cannot now be held against her if there was no permission from an appropriate authority. This argument is misconceived.
9.2 The case of the petitioner can be said to be identical to Mr Modhvadia as she also can be said to have completed her third semester as unequivocally opined by her departmental heads and therefore merely because Mr. Modhvadia joined during the vacation of 3rd Semester cannot save the institute from distinguishing the case. That he joined before the last semester commenced like the petitioner vindicates the stand of the petitioner that she is similarly situated as Mr. Modhvadia. The recording of the decision in the minutes justifying and distinguishing Mr. Modhvadia's case is therefore not justified. The petitioner therefore ought to be similarly treated and ought to be granted the benefit given to Mr. Modhvadia. The benefit cannot be denied to her only because she took her dissertation examinations before the scheduled date when she was permitted to do so.
10. Now coming to what relief can be granted to the petitioner. By an interim order dated 16.05.2019, the SVNIT was directed to accept the petitioner's registration for part time M.Tech Course. According to her, she had filled in her registration for the Fourth Semester on 03.01.2019 and Page 19 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER therefore she filed an application being Civil Application No.1 of 2019 for the following prayers.
"A. To direct the respondents to implement the order dated 28.06.2019 correctly and treat the applicant for conversion to part-time course on par with Mr Raju Modhvadiya, that is, 4th semester for January 2019 to May 2019 and the 5th semester from July 2019 to December 2019."
10.1 By an order dated 18.09.2019, the Civil Application was ordered to be heard with the main matter. The prayer in the Civil Application is that since she should have been treated to have commenced her part-time M.Tech in January 2019, pursuant to an interim order of this Court in June 2019, keeping Regulation 13 in mind which would require her to take one more extra semester she should be treated to have completed her part-time course of that 5th semester in December 2019. The semester otherwise would have ended in May 2019/June 2019 but because of Regulation 13 she was required to undertake one additional semester. Accordingly the prayer.
11. The stand of the SVNIT in its letter dated 31.07.2019 is evident. The letter addressed to the petitioner indicates that after the dismissal of the Letters Patent Appeal on 23.07.2019, the Institute has accepted her request for conversion for part time course. The letter states that in view of the order of the High Court, her dissertation work of M.Tech (Power Electronics and Electrical Drives) full time program into part time has been granted. The letter further indicates that she may continue her dissertation as a Part Time candidate as per Academic Regulations of the SVNIT, namely Regulation 13. It states that the Petitioner has so far Page 20 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER completed the course requirements of First Three Semesters only and as per the Regulations a part time candidate should complete their dissertation work in three semesters. The requirement therefore stipulates that she has to register herself for the fourth semester during July-December 2018 and 5th Semester during January-May 2020. This letter has prompted the MCA.
12. It is admitted that therefore the SVNIT has accepted to extend her the benefit and acceded to her request for conversion of her course into a part time course. She joined in July 2017. The course of two years runs into four semesters which would have ended in June 2019. In case of a part-time candidate, in view of an additional semester, a student would have to undergo an additional semester i.e. the academic pursuit to earn an M.Tech Degree would end in December 2019.
13. Whether the Petitioner can be granted such a benefit of a declaration of having completed her M.Tech in December 2019 even after the SVNIT having accepted in principle that the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of a part-time course? In my opinion the SVNIT keeping with the standards of Education and being an Institute of repute has to undertake that a student gets a degree in compliance of its Regulations. Regulation 13 clearly stipulates that the Petitioner in case wants a benefit of conversion into a part time course has to undertake an extra semester. Her request for being considered for conversion was rejected on 28.12.2018. The same was reiterated in meetings as early as in February 2019. She approached this Court in May 2019 when the Fourth Page 21 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER Semester had ended and registration for the 5 th Semester had begun. She did not pursue her Fourth Semester Dissertation and waited though her request was rejected in December 2018. The Regulation stipulates one additional semester. In view of the fact that the petitioner gets the benefit of part- time conversion on a belated challenge in May 2019 and in absence of monitoring of her progress during the 4th Semester of January 2019-May 2019 the petitioner cannot be entitled to be registered directly in the 5th Semester without completing her 4th Semester Course.
13.1 The petitioner may be entitled to the benefit of Part- Time Course as per the interim order but the order of 16.05.2019 made it specifically clear that it shall not create any rights in favour of the petitioner. The petitioner cannot then claim the benefit of relaxation of Regulation 13 which requires a student undergoing a Part-Time Course to complete 5 semesters. In absence of her undergoing the 4th Semester, a declaration can only be given that the petitioner will be entitled to her M.Tech Degree at the end of the 5th Semester of January-May 2020.
14. The Petition is allowed accordingly. The interim relief granted vide order dated 16.05.2019 is confirmed. However, it is clarified that the action of the SVNIT in granting the benefit of conversion to the Petitioner from full time course to part time is in the peculiar facts of the case and it shall not be treated as a precedent. It is also further clarified that in absence of the petitioner undergoing the 4th Semester, the petitioner will be entitled to her M.Tech Degree at the end of the 5th Semester of January-May 2020. Rule is made absolute Page 22 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019 C/SCA/9654/2019 CAV ORDER accordingly with no order as to costs. In view of the order in the main petition, Civil Application shall not survive and is disposed of accordingly.
(BIREN VAISHNAV, J) DIVYA Page 23 of 23 Downloaded on : Thu Oct 24 03:46:00 IST 2019