Orissa High Court

Anshuman Beuria vs State Of Odisha on 25 November, 2025

              IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK

                               W.P.(C) No.22659 of 2025

           In the matter of an application under Articles 226 & 227 of
           the Constitution of India, 1950.
                                       ----
           Anshuman Beuria                    ....            Petitioner

                                             -versus-

           State of Odisha, represented        ....    Opposite Parties
           through the Principal Secretary,
           Department of Agriculture &
           Farmers' Empowerment &
           Others
                       Advocates Appeared in this case
                  For Petitioner -       M/s.Uma Charan Mishra,
                                         A. Mishra & J.K. Mahapatra,
                                         Advocates

                    For Opp. Parties -             Mr.Satya Brata Mohanty,
                                                   AGA for O.P.1,
                                                   M/s.Subash Ch. Rath &
                                                   M.K.Parida,
                                                   Advocates for O.Ps.2 & 3
                                                 ---
           CORAM
                 MR. JUSTICE DIXIT KRISHNA SHRIPAD
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Date of Hearing & Judgment : 25.11.2025
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PER DIXIT KRISHNA SHRIPAD, J.

Petition prayer makes out the grievance and therefore, the

same is reproduced as under:-

"It is therefore prayed that your Lordships shall be graciously pleased enough to admit the aforesaid writ application and after hearing the parties concerned, quash the Office Order Dtd 07.08.2025 as under Annexure-4 and direct the opp. parties more particularly opp. party no-2 to 4 to accept the Semester Fees with any late fine as the Hon'ble Court may direct from the petitioner and to allow the petitioner to appear the final 6th Semester B.Sc AG examination going to commence from 16.08.2025 and to provide her Admit card and facilitate the appearance of the petitioner in 6th Semester Final examination......"

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that there was

belated payment of fees and in that connection, an apology letter

is also tendered by his client. He points out the ad interim order

dated 13.08.2025, which reads as under:-

"Issue emergent notice. Learned ASC -Mr. Ray, on request of the Court, accepts notice for OP.1. An extra copy of the writ petition with all the documents be served on him within three working days. Notice be sent to OPs.2 & 3 by speed post with A.D. returnable within 10 days, requisite for which shall be furnished within three working days. In addition, it is open to the Petitioner to serve a copy of the writ petition along with all the documents on the leaned Panel Counsel, who usually represents the University.

2. Petitioner, having been debarred from 6th Semester, B.Sc, Agricultural Science course, is complaining before the Court about the Court action, the examinations being around.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the Petitioner submits that the debar in question is due to non-remittance of semester fees and the said fees could not be remitted because of some financial and medical difficulties and further that now he would remit the same along with admissible fee and, therefore, Petitioner should be granted permission to appear in the imminent examination scheduled to commence from 16.08.2025. There is reason and logic

in the submission. If Petitioner is permitted to take up the examination subject to outcome of the main matter, no prejudice would be caused to anyone. On the contrary, if that course is not adopted, an innocent student may suffer and that would not augur well to the society.

In the above circumstances, the OP-University is directed to accept Petitioner's remittance of prescribed fees along with the admissible penalty and permit him to take up the imminent examination subject to result of the writ petition.

Call this matter on 26.08.2025 for reporting compliance of this interim direction...."

Added, he further submits that right to education being a

sort of Fundamental Right recognised under Article 21 of the

Constitution of India vide Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka,

AIR 1992 SC 1858, ordinarily the approach of the institutions and

Court should be pro-education disregarding the procedural

hurdles. He also tells that now pursuant to interim order, his

client having already written the examination, the admission

should be regularised and the result of such examination should

be published so that he can prosecute the course in a wholesale

way.

3. Learned Panel Counsel for the University vehemently

opposes the petition by filing the detailed Counter. He contends

that when all other students could comply timeline, why the

petitioner did not do so remains a riddle wrapped in enigma and

therefore, no relief can be granted to him contrary to the

University Regulations that prescribe the normative procedure

for admission of the kind. He also alerts the Court that directing

registration of admission merely because an interim order has

been granted by this Court pursuant to which, a candidate has

taken the admission, would be laying a very bad precedent. To

this, counsel for the petitioner retorts that already three more

students have taken admission after the cut-off date and

therefore, there is no reason to treat the cut-off date as a Portia's

Knife in Shakespear's 'The Merchant of Venice' (1600).

4. Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and

having perused the petition papers, this Court, in the peculiar fact

matrix of the case is inclined to grant relief to the petitioner

broadly agreeing with his counsel's submission.

4.1. Petitioner rightly or wrongly, could not remit the fees for

admission within time although he has paid examination fees for

7th Semester. He has tendered an unconditional apology vide

letter dated 01.08.2025, which reads as under:

"1st August, 2025 To The Dean College of Agriculture, OUAT, BBSR

Subject: Request for permission to pay college fees via demand draft due to delay in fee payment.

Respected Sir,

I am writing to sincerely apologize and seek your kind permission regarding an issue with my semester fee payment. I sincerely apologise for the misinformation I previously shared regarding my fee payment. I had mentioned it was paid, but in reality, I failed to pay in on time due to my own oversight. I take full responsibility for the mistake. I kindly request the cancellation of my earlier application and seek your permission to proceed with the comptroller fee payment. I assure you this will not happen again.