Bound By Law To Respect Judgments Of Courts: Delhi HC Directs JNV Not To Refuse Admission Of Students On Ground That They Belong To Different District
The Delhi High Court slammed Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) on refusing admission to students on the ground that they belonged to different districts from the ones where JNVs were situated.
A Class V student seeking admission to JNV in Class VI had filed a writ petition through her next friend and natural father.
A Single Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar remarked, “Before parting, I am constrained to express my displeasure at the fact that, in the teeth of the existing judgment in Sirjeet Kumar, the respondent has, nonetheless, refused admission to the petitioner in this case on the ground that she was not a student in the Mungeshpur district. This is completely unacceptable. The JNV is bound, in law, to respect and honour judgments rendered by Courts, howsoever unpalatable they may appear to be.”
Advocate Kumar Utkarsh appeared for the petitioner while CGSC Ripu Daman Bhardwaj and Advocate Jaswinder Singh appeared for the respondents.
In this case, the petitioner registered herself for admission in Class VI in the JNV for the academic year 2024-25. She appeared in the entrance test for admission to class VI in January 2024 and qualified. All requisite documents, for securing admission in Class VI, were also furnished in April 2024. At this stage, the JNV denied admission to her on the ground that she had done her schooling in New Delhi and not in the Mungeshpur District. It was sought to be contended by the JNV that admission was available only to students who had studied in Class V in the Mungeshpur District.
The High Court in the above regard said, “Mr. Jasvinder Singh is not able to point out any basis to distinguish the present case from Sirjeet Kumar, on facts or in law. … In that view of the matter, the petitioner is entitled to be treated at par with Sirjeet Kumar.”
The Court, therefore, directed JNV to ensure that the students are not refused admission on the ground that they do not belong to the districts in which the JNVs are situated, without driving every student to litigation.
“The petitioner is entitled to be admitted to the JNVM in class VI in the academic year 2024-25 and to be continue to be educated in the said school. This shall, however, be subject to the outcome of LPA 375/2023 pending before the Division Bench”, it concluded.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the petition to the aforesaid extent and quashed the impugned decision of not giving admission.
Cause Title- Shrishti Kumar v. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:4181)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates Ashok Agarwal, Kumar Utkarsh, and Manoj Kumar.
Respondents: CGSC Ripu Daman Bhardwaj, Advocates Kushagra Kumar, K. Manaswini, Vedansh Anand, and Jaswinder Singh.
