St. Stephen’s College and Jesus and Mary College have been authorized by the Delhi High Court to conduct interviews with applicants applying under the minority quota. Both colleges filed petitions challenging Delhi University’s mandate that CUET 2023 scores must be used for minority quota admission.
Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma heard the applications from minority colleges, Sharon Ann George’s appeal disputing the CUET results, and the interviews for minority applicants at St. Stephen’s College. St. Stephen’s College previously interviewed minority students with a 15% weighting.
Delhi University’s executive council decided on December 8, 2022, that CUET scores would be used exclusively for admissions to the university for the academic year 2023-24, especially for minority seats. The court’s earlier decision did not support the university’s action, which raised concerns.
A Delhi High Court decision allowed St. Stephen’s College to adjust the weightage of its Common University Entrance Test (CUET) and interview for varied quotas. An interim Supreme Court order allowed St. Stephen’s College’s change in admission policy on July 21 after the college opposed Delhi University’s (DU) minority quota admission notification, which required 100% CUET weightage.
St. Stephen’s College petitioned the Delhi High Court following DU’s December 30, 2022 pronouncement. The Christian minority quota admissions announcement weighted CUET results 100%. On September 12, 2022, the High Court ordered the college to weight reserved interviews over non-reserved interviews. The college argued that DU’s communication violated the order.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad ruled in favour of minority institutions making decisions for the benefit of the community. St. Stephen’s College may adjust its admission weightage to accommodate minorities, since the Court found no conflict between admission interviews and minority institutional interests.
Changes in policies
- The interim admission policy for 2023-24 at St. Stephen’s College is as follows:
- CUET scores: 85%, interviews: 15%.
- Admissions to non-minority students are based on CUET scores only.
- Admission decisions will be determined by writ petitions, the Court emphasized.
Moreover, the Court overruled the High Court’s ruling and determined that the UGC’s statement violated St. Stephen’s College’s rights under Article 30(1) of the Indian Constitution. UGC’s notification was illogical and ignored the High Court’s judgment, suggesting poor decision-making on the part of the government.
Senior Advocates A Mariarputham, Romy Chacko, Prashant Kumar, Ankit Sharma, Sachin Singh, and Anuradha Arutham were in charge of representing St. Stephen’s College, while Vikramjit Banerjee, Mohinder JS Rupal, and Hardik Rupal were in charge of representing Delhi University.
As of Academic Year 2023-24, the altered admission policy will apply to minority institutions and St. Stephen’s College. Until the Supreme Court rules, the altered policy will apply to minority institutions and St. Stephen’s College entrance.
