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2006 DIGILAW 1904 (DEL)

MASTER ABHIJEET PAL v. PRINCIPAL DPS, DWARKA

2006-10-17

ANIL KUMAR

body2006
ANIL KUMAR, J. ( 1 ) WHETHER the petitioners who are students of Delhi Public School, Dwarka can seek admission in science stream contrary to the policy laid down by the school for admission to the science stream, is the point for determination in this petition. ( 2 ) THE petitioners are the students of DPS, Dwarka and they have challenged the action of respondent No. 1 not allotting science stream to the petitioners though petitioner No. 1 has scored 72% in aggregate and 77% in ESM whereas petitioner No. 2 has scored 76. 6% in aggregate and 76% in ESM. ( 3 ) THE petitioners plea is that they opted for science stream, however, the respondent no. 1 denied admission to the petitioners in the opted stream. On denial from giving admission to the petitioners in the stream of their choice, the parents of the petitioners met the Principal, respondent No. 1, to put forward their point for allotting science stream to their children. During the meeting with the parents of the petitioners, the respondent No. 1 insisted that as per the policy of the school the petitioners could be granted admission in the science stream only if they had scored 80% marks. ( 4 ) THE petitioners relied on the instructions issued by Directorate of Education, Delhi Administration for class 11th which contemplates that for science stream a student declared passed in the secondary school examination must secure atleast 50% marks in aggregate or 85% marks in science and maths in aggregate and in both the cases the student must have scored atleast 40 marks in mathematics. The instructions also contemplates concession of 5 marks to the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; Handicapped; those having first, second and third position in the National Games; EFA volunteers who have obtained a certificate for having worked in the EFA Campaign from a competent authority not below the rank of DDE (EFA), and Kashmiri Migrants. ( 5 ) THE petitioners also challenged the action of respondent No. 1 in compelling some other students of DPS, Dwarka to leave the school and admit the students of other schools who were offered science stream. ( 6 ) THE petitioners also emphasized that the seats in various streams are vacant and despite that the petitioners have not been given admission in the stream of their choice. ( 6 ) THE petitioners also emphasized that the seats in various streams are vacant and despite that the petitioners have not been given admission in the stream of their choice. ( 7 ) ON these grounds the students challenged the action of the respondents being violative of their fundamental right as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India in not giving the petitioners the subject of their choice. The petitioners also relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of N. Singh (Minor) Vs. Director of Education holding that once a student is admitted to a school his admission continues until he passes the last examination for which the school gives education. The petitioners categorically challenged the right of the respondent No. 1 to fix cut off percentage for admission to different streams, specially, different cut off percentages fixed in the different schools run by the same society, as being arbitrary. ( 8 ) THE petition is contested by the respondents, however, no reply was filed on behalf of the respondents and reliance was placed on a judgment of a Division Bench in LPA No. 1650/2005; M. I. Hussain Vs. N. Singh and others. ( 9 ) THE learned counsel for the petitioner has distinguished the case of N. Singh decided by a Division Bench of this Court contending inter-alia that N. Singh was a marginal case as that student had scored 66% in comparison to marks scored by the petitioners in ESM and otherwise also petitioners are very meritorious students. The petitioners also contended that according to rule 145 of Delhi School Education Rules, 1973 the admission is to be regulated on the basis of an admission test or on the basis of result in a particular class. Invoking discrimination it was contended that a student who has scored 70. 5% studying at DPS, Mathura Road has been allotted science stream but the petitioners with 77% marks in aggregate and studying at DPS, Dwarka have not been admitted to science stream though the management and controlling society for both the schools is the same. ( 10 ) IN M. I. Hussain (Supra) a Division Bench of this Court had set aside the decision of a Single Judge who in view of the seats available in class 11th in science stream directed the school to permit the candidates to join science stream. ( 10 ) IN M. I. Hussain (Supra) a Division Bench of this Court had set aside the decision of a Single Judge who in view of the seats available in class 11th in science stream directed the school to permit the candidates to join science stream. ( 11 ) PAYAL Guptas case also relied on by the petitioner was distinguished on the ground that the decision does not say that a student must be admitted in a particular stream of his choice but what it mandates is that a student who has passed out of class 10th from a school should be admitted to class 11th in that school, if seats are available. ( 12 ) THIS is not the case of the petitioners that they have not been given admission to class 11th in the same school. The grievance of the petitioners is that the respondent No. 1 has fixed the criterion of 80% marks for admission to science stream, which cannot be resorted to as the seats are vacant in the science stream and the other schools under the management of the same society are granting admission to science stream with a percentage of 70% and above. ( 13 ) RELYING on various judgments the Division Bench had held that in policy matters the Court has very limited scope of interference and the Court cannot sit in judgment over the wisdom of policy evolved by the legislature and the subordinate regulation making body. In M. I. Hussain (Supra) it was held that the Court cannot ordinarily interfere with administrative matters since the administrative authorities are specialists in matters relating to the administration and the Court does not have the expertise in such matters and should leave such matters to the discretion of the administrative authority. ( 14 ) A special leave petition filed against the decision in M. I. Hussain (Supra) has also been dismissed by the Supreme Court and in the circumstances the issue raised by the petitioner stands concluded by the Division Bench and confirmed by the Apex Court by dismissing the special leave petition. ( 15 ) CONSIDERING the facts and circumstances, therefore, there are no grounds to interfere in the decision of the respondents in not permitting science stream to the petitioners in the facts and circumstances. ( 15 ) CONSIDERING the facts and circumstances, therefore, there are no grounds to interfere in the decision of the respondents in not permitting science stream to the petitioners in the facts and circumstances. The petitioners were offered other streams after qualifying the secondary examination in 2005 and by now they must be in class 12th. ( 16 ) IN the facts and circumstances the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India cannot be exercised against the decision of the respondents for allotting different streams to the petitioners other than what was opted by them in consonance with their policy. There is no arbitrariness in the decision of the respondents in not allotting science stream to the petitioners nor there is such procedural unreasonableness so as to entail interference by this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The writ petition is, therefore, dismissed.