No relief for students admitted against rules by Rohtak institute

Check claims of the private colleges twice before taking admission. The Punjab and Haryana high court has refused relief to students who were admitted to a course by a private college of Rohtak in violation of rules.

The high court, though, held that the students were entitled to claim damages and fee refund in accordance with the law from the institute. The court ruled that students who did not fulfil the minimum standards relating to the maximum age limit and minimum educational qualifications as maintained in the course, cannot claim any equity as the basic qualification for admission and age criteria cannot be compromised.

The court was hearing a bunch petitions of 17 students filed against the Haryana government’s order of January 2014 by some second-year students of the two-year veterinary and livestock development assistant diploma course (VLDAD) offered by International Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Rohtak. The institute is affiliated to Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Science, Hisar.

In January 2014 the government had refused to relax the criteria for admission to the course which were done by the institute from 2011 onwards. The matter came before the government after the university refused to allow some students to sit in the exam on the ground of being ineligible for admission for not fulfilling the admission criteria. Though the institute was affiliated to the university, it did not follow rules with regard to minimum qualification, age and quota given to students from state at the time of admission, the high court order states.

The university had given the college no-objection certificate to run the course in 2011, but the affiliation was granted in 2013. The college had started the admissions from 2011 onwards. The 2011-12 and 2012-13 batch students were allowed to sit in their first-year examinations provisionally. But as university did not found admissions as per rules, it refused to take the final examinations in 2014, which was conducted following the high court interim order.

The high court observed that the terms and conditions were violated by the institute as it did not adhere to the 50% intake of state quota seats, but also the minimum standards relating to maximum age and minimum educational qualifications as maintained in the course. The high court ruled that the government decision was “without any blemish” and cannot be interfered with.