Rajasthan High Court - Jaipur
Saurabh Bhakar S/O Sh. Madan Gopal vs University Of Rajasthan on 20 August, 2019
Author: Alok Sharma
Bench: Alok Sharma
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
BENCH AT JAIPUR
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.14106/2019
Saurabh Bhakar S/o Sh. Madan Gopal, Aged About 25 Years, R/o
House No. 603, Sector 20 Part 2nd Hudda Colony, Sirsa, Haryana.
----Petitioner
Versus
1. University of Rajasthan, JLN Marg, Jaipur (Rajasthan),
through its Registrar.
2. Office of the Chief Election Officer and Dean, Students
Welfare, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur through its Chief
Election Officer.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr.Hemant Taylor
For Respondent(s) : Mr.A.K. Sharma, Senior Counsel
assisted by Mr.Rachit Sharma.
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK SHARMA
Order
20/08/2019
The petitioner is aggrieved of being denied his
purported right to contest the Rajasthan University Students' Union, (RUSU) Elections 2019.
The petitioner was admitted in Part-I of the Three Year LLB Course with the University of Rajasthan (hereafter 'the University') in the Academic Year 2016-2017 and after having been successful in Part-I and II examination, he was admitted to (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (2 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] the Part-III of Three Year LLB course in the Academic Session 2018-19. At the end of the academic year, the petitioner wrote the Part-III LLB Examination. Result thereof was declared on 7.8.2019 where he obtained a supplementary having failed in two papers of Part-III LLB Course i.e. Code of Civil Procedure & Lim./ Practical- Written Paper-Drafting. He abandoned the LLB Course and took admission into the M.A. (Centre for Rajasthan Studies) Part-1 st (Semester) in the Academic Year 2019-20.
Elections to the post of office-bearers of the RUSU, 2019 was notified on 19.8.2019. The petitioner prior thereto under his application dated 14.8.2019 to the Returning Officer for the election in issue sought clarification as to whether he was eligible to contest the elections to the post of an office-bearer of the RUSU, 2019 in view of the fact that he had abandoned the Three Year LLB Course following his supplementary result in the Part- III examination. Vide letter dated 16.8.2019, the Chief Election Officer, RUSU Election, 2019 informed the petitioner that the (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (3 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] Interpretation Committee, RUSU Elections 2019 having considered his eligibility to participate in the election to a post of an office- bearer found that he was not eligible as per the Clause 20 (c) of Chapter-IV: (Disqualifications) of the Constitution of the RUSU, 2017.
Mr.Hemant Taylor counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is a freshly/ admitted regular student to M.A. (Centre for Rajasthan Studies) in the Academic Session 2019-20. As such he is entitled to contest the elections and his abandonment of Three Year LLB Course for whatever reason is of no consequence as the petitioner has no academic arrears of a previous year. Reliance has been placed on the judgment of this Court in the case of Ajay Kumar Kaswan vs. University of Rajasthan & Another SBCWP No.11387/2015 decided on 14.8.2015 where the petitioner therein was allowed to contest the elections for the post of office-bearer of RUSU despite the fact that he had abandoned an earlier course in which he had failed (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (4 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] because he had taken fresh admission into the M.A. (Dramatics) consequent to which he could not be said to have any academic arrears of a previous academic year.
Per contra, Mr.A.K. Sharma, Senior Counsel appearing with Mr.Rachit Sharma for the respondent-University submitted that reliance placed by counsel for the petitioner on the case of Ajay Kumar Kaswan (supra) is wholly inapposite. The said judgment was rendered at a time when Clause 20(c) of the Chapter-IV: Disqualification of the Constitution of the RUSU, 2010 as amended in 2014 was materially different, as under:-
Clause 20. No member of the Rajasthan University Students' Union/ other Unions shall be entitled to contest for any post of office-
bearer or to become student member of the Assembly/ executive council/ executive Committee as the case may be, if that student
(c) has failed to clear all the papers of the last examination (whether annual scheme or semester scheme) individually and in aggregate, including by absence in the said examination.
Mr.A.K. Sharma, submitted that presently Clause 20(c) of Chapter-IV: Disqualifications of the Constitution of the RUSU, 2017 stands amended provides as under :-
(Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM)
(5 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] Clause 20. No member of the Rajasthan University Students' Union/ Constituent College Students' Unions/ other Unions shall be entitled to contest for any post of office-bearer or to become student member of the Assembly/ executive council/ executive Committee as the case may be, if that student
(c) has failed to clear all the papers, whether compulsory or elective, individually and in aggregate, including by absence (or not secured required credits in case of final examination) of the last Semester/ Year in which he has taken admission in the preceding academic session of the year of contesting the election (whether Annual or Semester Scheme or whether the examination of University of Rajasthan or any other academic institution).
Mr.A.K. Sharma submitted that thus presently any regular student of the University of Rajasthan in the current academic year to which RUSU Elections pertains who has failed to clear all the papers individually or in aggregate including by way of absence of the last semester/ last year in the previous year/ academic session is not eligible to participate in the election to the post of office-bearer of the RUSU. Mr.A.K. Sharma submitted that the petitioner admittedly was a regular student of University of Rajasthan in the academic year 2018-2019 when he was admitted in Part-III of Three Year LLB Course. Admittedly in the (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (6 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] examination of Part-III of Three Year LLB Course following the end of academic session, the petitioner wrote the examination result whereof declared on 7.8.2019. The petitioner at the said examination got supplementary in two papers. He submitted that on the aforesaid facts, in terms of plain language of Clause 20(c) of Constitution of RUSU, 2017 as it presently stand the petitioner is not eligible to contest the elections for the post of office bearers of RUSU, 2019 and the Interpretation Committee of the University rightly rejected his eligibility--as has been conveyed to the petitioner vide impugned letter dated 16.8.2019.
Heard. Considered.
The golden rule of interpretation is literal interpretation. On the plain language of Rule 20(c) of the Chapter IV- Disqualifications of the Constitution of the RUSU, 2017 as presently stand and quoted hereinabove, the petitioner having failed, in a paper in the LLB course 2018-2019 academic year to which he was admitted to in the previous academic session, (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (7 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] cannot be entitled to contest the elections to any post of office- bearers of the RUSU at the election of 2019 relevant to academic year 2019-20. The judgment of this Court in the case of Ajay Kumar Kaswan (supra) relied upon by the counsel for the petitioner was passed in the context of a wholly different provision prior to its amendment where abandonment of the course to which the student was admitted in the previous year or failed to pass it for whatever reason including absence, was not taken to be a disqualification to contest the elections for the post of office- bearers in the University of Rajasthan. Clause 20(c) of the Chapter-IV: Disqualifications of the Constitution of RUSU, 2017 presently standing renders a regular student of the University in the current academic session ineligible to contest the election of the current academic year for any reason including absence academic arrears of the previous year obtain. The previous academic year would entail status of a student in the previous academic year even in a course different from the one currently to (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (8 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] which the student has been currently admitted. Hence that the petitioner abandoned the Three Year LLB course after academic session 2018-19 is of no event a succor to him. He was a regular student in the previous academic year. He has failed two papers in that academic year. That by itself disqualifies him to contest election to the post of an office bearer in RUSU even if he was no academic arrears in that said course he has been admitted too. The amended clause 20(c) of RUSU Constitution, 2017 intentionally seeks to cover situations as in the instant case where an academically challenged student could not escape the lean on eligibility to contest RUSU election by the simple strategies of abandoning a course in which he has academic year by abandoning that course and being admitted anew to a first course as a regular student in the University. Mr.A.K. Sharma has rightly submitted that the extant Clause 20(c) of the Chapter IV:-
Disqualifications of the Constitution of RUSU, 2017 is wholly different from the one as obtaining in the case of Ajay Kumar (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) (9 of 9) [CW-14106/2019] Kaswan (supra) and hence the petitioner has thus rightly been hold to be ineligible to contest the RUSU Election, 2019 for academic session 2019-20.
I find no force in the petition. Dismissed.
(ALOK SHARMA), J Himanshu Soni /375/129 (Downloaded on 28/08/2019 at 10:37:14 PM) Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)