Swaraj Sanjay Bhise vs State Of Maharashtra And Ors
2017 Latest Caselaw 6928 Bom

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Ladda
                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

                                  CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION


                 WRIT PETITION (Stamp) No. 22085 of 2017.


        Swaraj Sanjay Bhise,
        age 21 years, presently residing at
        Nave Nagar, Mahad, Shedav Road,
        District Raigad.                                           ..Petitioner.

                             Vs

        1)       State of Maharashtra
                 Through it's Department of Higher
                 Technical Education, Mantralaya,
                 Mumbai.

        2)       State CET Cell,
                 Directorate of Technical Education,
                 3,Mahapalika Marg,
                 Opp. Metro Cinema, Dhobi Talao,
                 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Area,
                 Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 001.

        3)       Kolhapur Institute of Technology's
                 College of Engineering,
                 Gokul Shirgaon,
                 Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416012.                     ..Respondents.

        Ms. P.V. Thorat, Advocate for the Petitioner.
        Mr. C.P. Yadav, A.G.P. for Respondent No.1.




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                         CORAM :ANOOP V. MOHTA, & SMT.
                                BHARATI H.DANGRE JJ.

         RESERVED FOR ORDER ON: 28 th August, 2017
         PRONOUNCED ON : 8 th September, 2017.

JUDGMENT (Per:- Smt. Bharati H. Dangre, J)

1) The petitioner is aspiring to secure admission in

Engineering Course in the year 2017-18 and claims to be

belonging to Hindu-Mahar caste which is recognised as a

Scheduled Caste. He has passed his 12th Standard Examination

in the year 2013 by securing 48.67% marks. The petitioner

appeared in Common Entrance Examination (CET) conducted

in the year 2013 and on the basis of his score of 59 marks out

of 200 secured admission in Kolhapur Institute of Technology's

College of Engineering via Centralized Admission Process

(CAP) round. The petitioner is now prosecuting his studies in

the III year of Engineering. However, he has been refused to

keep terms and has been asked to appear for the first year

examination, since on the alleged ground of ill health he did not

appear for some of the examinations or failed to clear

examinations.

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2) However, the petitioner appeared for Maharashtra

CET again in the year 2017. The Government of Maharashtra

through Directorate of Technical Education had framed Rules

in the form of information brochure for admission to

undergraduate technical courses (2017-18). As per the said

Rules in order to secure a seat belonging Maharashtra State, a

candidate is required to have passed H.Sc. or its equivalent

examination with Physics and Mathematics of compulsory

subjects along with Chemistry or Bi0-Technology, Biology or

Technical or Vocational subject and obtain at least 50% & 45%

marks (in the case of backward categories and persons with

disabilities) noted above subjects taken together and obtained

score in CET conducted by the Competent Authority.

3) The present writ petition is filed by the petitioner

seeking a direction to the Respondents Authorities to relax the

eligibility criteria from 45% to 40% to the petitioner who

belongs to backward class category and to consider the

petitioner eligible for admission to Bachelor of Engineering

Course for the Academic year 2017-18. The petitioner has

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further sought a declaration that the eligibility criteria

prescribed by the Respondent State for the academic year

2013-14 shall be made applicable to the petitioner for

admission to Bachelor of Engineering Course for the Academic

Year 2017-18. The petitioner has also filed another Writ

Petition No. 1753 of 2017 in which he prayed for directions to

the University to relax the norms framed by the University and

permit him to keep terms for his B.E.Course. The said writ

petition came to be disposed of by this Bench (Coram: Anoop

V.Mohta and Smt.Bharati H.Dangre,JJ) on 28th August, 2017

by permitting the petitioner to withdraw the same and make

representation to the respondents.

4) The petitioner is a student who was admitted to B.E.

(1st year) on the basis of CET score in the year 2013 and on

account of his alleged ill health did not clear the engineering

examinations for three years. Apprehending that he will have

to appear for first year examination of engineering with all

subjects, he appeared for CET 2017 desirous of seeking fresh

admission in the engineering course. However, the

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Directorate of Technical Education displayed the eligibility

status of the petitioner's candidature as follows:-

"As you have less than 44.50% marks in subject Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics added together and Physics, Mathematics and Information Technology (97) added together in Hsc. So you are not eligible for admission."

5) Being aggrieved, the petitioner has approached this

Court and want this Court to apply the eligibility criteria which

was in existence in the year 2013-14 when he passed his H.Sc.

Examination and want to fall back to the said year when the

Respondents Authorities had taken a conscious decision to

reduce the eligibility criteria for the candidates who appeared

in H.Sc. Examination in that particular year, in the light of

overall result of the candidates appearing for H.Sc.

Examination in that year which was found to be relatively poor.

6) It is noteworthy to mention that in the year 2013-14

when the petitioner had passed his H.Sc. Examination and had

scored 48.67% marks, he was held eligible by relaxing the

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required score. The petitioner wants to turn the clock back to

the year 2013 and seek the same relaxation for the year 2017

by relaxing the eligibility criteria from 45% to 40%. We see no

reason to do so nor do we see any justification for doing so. The

petitioner has passed his H.Sc. Examination in the year 2013

and got admitted in the Engineering Course but for some reason

he has not been able to clear terms in Engineering and,

therefore, after three years he again appears in CET-2017

when the norms and the eligibility minimum qualification have

been raised to 50% in case of open category candidates and 45%

in case of backward category candidates and since the

petitioner falls short of that he wants to relax the said norms as

was done in the year 2013. The petitioner has not been able to

clear the Engineering of Examination and has approached this

Court seeking relaxation of the rules permitting to keep terms

framed by the University. We do not find any justification for

relaxing norms in favour of the petitioners as there may be

many students who might have been deprived of admissions by

applying yardstick of minimum score who have appeared in

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2017 CET and who did not score the minimum marks as

required and they might have been ousted from the admission

process. In such circumstances, we do not find it fit to grant

benefit of the norms in existence in the year 2017 when they

were relaxed by the authorities on a peculiar ground restricting

it that year and it cannot be made applicable to the petitioner

after three years.

A need for prescribing the minimum eligibility criteria

has already been upheld by this Court by which one of us

(Anoop V. Mohta,J) was Party in case of Akash Laxman Sakat

vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors reported in 2014 (5) Mh.LJ

576 when this Court has recognised the power of the State

Government to fix rules and to frame the policy of higher

eligibility criteria. Fixing of minimum qualifying marks was

upheld by the Hon'ble Apex Court in case of Visvewaraiah

Technological University & Anr Vs. Krishnendu Halder & Ors

(2011) 4 SCC 606, wherein the Apex Court has held that in

spite of the vacancies in existence, the higher eligibility criteria

needs to be given a weightage to maintain better standards, the

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same being part of academic policy of the University and it is

beyond the purview of judicial review unless and until it is

established that such standards are arbitrary and adversely

affecting standard, if any, fixed by the Central Government in

the Central Enactment. Thus, when the State Government has

fixed the minimum eligibility criteria to maintain standards of

a particular curriculum, it is not expedient in the interest of

justice to interfere with the same and to relax the said

standards in favour of the petitioner who has not made out any

exceptional case and rather is intending to take advantage of

his own wrong as he is not able to clear the engineering

examinations and wants to compete again after three years on

the basis of norms which were in existence prior to three years.

We do not find any merit in the writ petition and the

petitioner do not deserve any relief as claimed. The Writ

petition is dismissed. No order as to costs.

(SMT. BHARATI H.DANGRE J) (ANOOP V. MOHTA, J).

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