Saqlain Mujtaba vs University Of Jammu And Others
2022 Latest Caselaw 812 j&K

     HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AND LADAKH
                      AT JAMMU

                                                  Reserved on 11.05.2022
                                                  Pronounced on 21.05.2022


                                                 WP(C) No. 74/2022 (O&M)


Saqlain Mujtaba                                 .....Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s)


                       Through: Mr. M. I. Sherkhan, Advocate
                  vs
University of Jammu and others                               ..... Respondent(s)
                       Through: Mr. Ajay Abrol, Advocate

Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJNESH OSWAL, JUDGE
                                 JUDGMENT

1. The petitioner is a student of Bachelor of Engineering/B Tech. and is

pursuing the 7th Semester of the said course. It is stated that the petitioner

submitted online form along with examination fee of Rs. 2829/- for

appearance in three subjects i.e. Building Drawing, Basic Electrical

Engineering and Surveying. The said fee was paid by the petitioner on

27.01.2021. The petitioner claims to have been allotted link, by which the

petitioner appeared in online examination and the result was declared on

03.12.2021 but the result of the petitioner was withheld and when the

petitioner approached the respondents, he was told that the petitioner has

not paid the examination fee and the petitioner produced the bank

statement which showed that he paid the examination fee of Rs. 2829/- on

27.01.2021 along with examination form but the respondents refused to

declare its result on the ground that the said amount has not reached in the

account of the University. The bank authorities also failed to submit the

details of the account in which the amount was deposited/transferred by

the petitioner. The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner cannot be

made to suffer for any network and technical fault in submission of

application form/examination fee as it was beyond the control of the

petitioner. The petitioner claims to have submitted a representation in this

regard to the University but the same has not been decided.

2. On the basis of these facts, the petitioner has filed the present petition for

directing the respondents to declare the result of the petitioner for 3rd

Semester of B. Tech/BE having Roll No. 181406013 in Civil Engineering

which has been withheld by the University and a prayer has also been

made by the petitioner to direct the respondents to accept the examination

fee as already paid on 27.01.2021 or to accept fresh fee along with late fee

from the petitioner. The petitioner has also placed on record the screen

shots of the email links as also certain other documents to substantiate his

plea.

3. The respondents have filed the objections wherein it has been stated that

the petitioner failed in three subjects namely, Building Drawing, Basic

Electrical Engineering and Surveying. The petitioner was supposed to fill

up his examination form online/offline in January, 2021 for appearing in

the examination which has been conducted in the month of July, 2021.

The petitioner did not submit his application form online/offline as per the

record available with the University. However, the petitioner appeared in

the examination by using link of another candidate as the examination for

3rd Semester was conducted online. The respondents claim to have

verified the record and as alleged by the petitioner that he submitted his

application form along with examination fee is not borne from the record.

It is also stated that the University Authorities have maintained pages of

all the candidates registered with the University for filling up their

examination forms along with fee and in this behalf regarding the page of

the petitioner maintained by the University, there is no deposit of fee on

27.01.2021 as alleged by the petitioner and the University has received the

examination fee of the petitioner in the year, 2021 two times, i.e.

31.12.2021 and 28.11.2021 for his appearance in the examination of

different semesters. It is also stated that the University informed all the

candidates of BE/B. Tech who had not filled up their examination forms

either online or offline for the examination held in 2021 and whose results

have been kept withheld that their results have been erased from the

record vide notification dated 25.09.2021. Since the petitioner was falling

under the said category, so his result has also been erased in terms of said

notification. It is further stated that the amount of Rs. 2829/- alleged to

have been deposited by the petitioner nowhere exists in the fee structure

provided by the University. The respondents have placed on record the

page of the petitioner maintained by the respondents, his fee schedule and

also the copy of the notification dated 25.09.2021.

4. Mr. M. I. Sherkhan, learned counsel for the petitioner has vehemently

argued that the petitioner had deposited the fee on 27.01.2021 and if the

same has not been credited in the account of the respondents, the

petitioner cannot be punished for the same. He vehemently argued that

from the bank record, it is evident that the amount of Rs. 2829/- has been

debited from the account of the petitioner. He also laid stress that there is

no fee structure of Rs. 2829/- as claimed by the respondents, is false as the

petitioner has placed on record the fee paid by the other candidates those

are not in accordance with the fee structure as placed on record by the

respondents.

5. Per contra, Mr. Ajay Abrol, learned counsel for the respondents-

University has vehemently argued that as per the record of the

respondents, the petitioner did not apply and submit the application form

along with examination fee for appearing in the three subjects

examination in which the petitioner had failed and further that he

appeared in the examination by using the link of another candidate as the

papers were conducted online. He also submitted that the page maintained

by the University reflecting the amount paid by the petitioner for the year,

2021 belies the claim of the petitioner that he had paid Rs. 2829/- with the

respondents as examination fee. He further laid stress that as per the

notification dated 25.09.2021 the result of the candidates who had not

filled up their examination forms either online or offline for the exams

held in 2021 and whose result has been kept withheld under RLO

category, has been erased.

6. Pursuant to the order dated 25.04.2022, the respondents submitted the

affidavit and along with the same, the details with regard to the fees

received by the University of Jammu on 27.01.2021 have been furnished.

It is also stated that vide notification dated 25.09.2021, it was informed

that all the candidates of BE/B.Tech of different semesters, who have not

filled up their examination forms, either offline or online, for the

examinations held in 2021 and whose results have been kept withheld

under RLO category, their result has been erased from the record and

adopting the same principle, the petitioner's result and also the result of

other similarly situated candidates, who did not submit their examination

forms, have been erased by the University. In order to substantiate their

stand, the respondents have placed on record the communication

addressed by the Deputy Registrar (Eval-P) dated 04.05.2022 to the

Assistant Registrar (Legal Cell), University of Jammu.

7. Heard and perused the record.

8. The contention of the petitioner is that he submitted online examination

form along with examination fee of Rs. 2829/- for appearance in three

subjects of 3rd semester on 27.01.2021. The respondents have

categorically denied the submission of any such online form by the

petitioner and further the details of the fee received by the respondents-

University on 27.01.2021 clearly demonstrate that no such amount of Rs.

2829/- as allegedly paid by the petitioner, has been received by the

University. There is in fact nothing on record that the petitioner submitted

the examination form online and even the petitioner has not brought on

record any material with regard to the deposit of the examination fee in

the account of the University.

9. The respondents have taken a stand that the petitioner appeared in the

examination by using the link of another candidate as the exams were

conducted online. On the contrary, the claim of the petitioner is that the

University shared the link with the petitioner for appearance in online

examination. This is a disputed question of fact and in view of the

diametrically opposite stand taken by the parties, this Court is not in a

position to return a conclusive finding that the University shared a link of

online examination with the petitioner and the petitioner appeared in the

examination by using the said link. The screen shots placed on record by

the petitioner cannot be relied upon in order to arrive at the conclusion

that the link was shared with the petitioner by the respondents. A perusal

of the notification dated 25.09.2021 reveals that certain candidates of

B.E/B.Tech. of different semesters, who did not fill their examination

forms, either online or offline, for the exams held in 2021 and whose

result was kept withheld under RLO category, their result has been erased.

Further in the affidavit, it has been stated by the respondents that acting

on the same principle, the petitioner's result as also result of other

similarly situated candidates, who did not submit their examination forms,

have been erased by the University. Once the erasing of the result by the

University has not been disputed by the petitioner, no directions as sought

by the petitioner for declaration of the result, can be issued in the present

writ petition.

10. In view of aforesaid facts and circumstances, the present petition has no

merit, the same is dismissed.

(Rajnesh Oswal) Judge JAMMU 21.05.2022 Rakesh Whether the order is speaking: Yes/No Whether the order is reportable: Yes/No