The Allahabad High Court stepped in to protect the academic future of a B.Sc. (Biology) student after she was barred from appearing in her semester examination due to a technical failure in the university’s online portal, raising serious questions about administrative accountability and the right to education.
The controversy began when the petitioner, a first-year B.Sc. student admitted to Urmila Devi P.G. College for the 2025–26 academic session, was denied an admit card by Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, despite having paid her fees and pursued her studies regularly. Counsel for the petitioner argued that her application existed on the University’s ‘Samarth Portal’ but remained in draft form due to non-updation by the authorities.
Although the college had formally informed the University about the records of 30 similarly placed students, only 25 were updated, leaving the petitioner and four others excluded, resulting in her being prevented from taking the examination for no fault of her own.
Taking a stern view, the High Court found that the University was fully aware of the technical lapse but failed to act. Emphasising the constitutional dimension of the issue, the Court observed that “appearing in the examination is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” noting that denying a student the opportunity to sit for exams on account of administrative or technical errors violates the right to live with dignity.
Relying on precedents of both the Allahabad and Courts, the Bench held that a student’s future cannot be jeopardised due to systemic failures. Consequently, the Court directed the University to conduct a special B.Sc. (Biology) first-semester examination for the petitioner within two weeks, declare the result within a reasonable time, update her records, and ensure her academic progression, while also calling upon the University to explain its procedure for handling such portal-related errors.
Case Title: Shreya Pandey Vs State Of U.P. And Others,
Case No.: Writ - C No. - 43756 of 2025
Coram: Hon'ble Vivek Saran, J.
Advocate for the Petitioner: Adv. Suraj Pandey,
Advocate for the Respondent: Adv. Pratik Chandra, Adv. Vikas Mishra
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com
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