New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday refused to stay for now the Delhi University's letter asking St. Stephen's College to withdraw its prospectus for the undergraduate courses for the academic year 2022-23, giving 85 per cent weightage to CUET and 15 per cent weightage to college interview for its unreserved seats.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta, however, issued notice on the stay application and petition filed by the college.
The bench listed it for further hearing on July 6, along with a similar petition filed by a law student who has sought direction to the college to take admission on its 'unreserved seats' in undergraduate courses only based on marks received by students in the common university entrance test (CUET), as mandated by the varsity.
The college has challenged the university's letter asking it to withdraw its prospectus for the undergraduate courses for the academic year 2022-23, giving 85 per cent weightage to CUET and 15 per cent weightage to the college interview for its unreserved seats.
When the counsel for the college urged the court to only clarify that the university will not insist on taking action against the college, the bench said We are not going to say anything. You may stick to your stand .
If you are not complying with their other directions you don't comply with this also. Who is stopping you, the bench said.
When the college's counsel said, If we withdraw the prospectus, the matter becomes infructuous.
As per the previous petition filed by the law student, on April 5, the varsity issued its admission policy for the academic year 2022-23, and on its last page of the Bulletin of Information, it specifically mentioned that admission to the unreserved seats in its minority colleges will be done only on the basis of marks obtained in CUET while on reserved seats minority colleges can give 15 per cent weightage to the interview and 85 per cent weightage to the CUET score at the time of admission.
On April 20, the college refused to follow the instructions of Delhi University and issued a press release and admission notice stating that the college will conduct interviews for both the reserved and the unreserved seats.