LexGURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY versus SANJAY KUMAR KATWAL & ANR.
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[2008] 14 S.C.R. 961 GURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY v SANJAY KUMAR KATWAL & ANR. (Civil Appeal No. 2252 of 2006) OCTOBER 21, 2008 [K.G. BALAKRISHNAN, CJI AND R.V. RAVEENDRAN, A B -t' J .] .. Education -Admission to LLB. (Professional) Course - Cancellation of admission by University, after permission c granted to the candidate for appearing in examination - On the ground that eligibility qualification i.e. Master's degree under Open University System not recognized - Held: Uni- versity rightly directed cancellation of admission as eligibility qualification of the candidate was ndt recognized by the Uni- D versify - However, in view of the facts that the candidate took admission without suppression or mis-representation of facts, and was permitted to appear in the examination and has com- pleted the course, his admission not to be cancelled. Education- Equivalence in educa_tional degrees - Held: F Is a technical academic and policy matter, not to be interfered with, by Courts - However, equivalence cannot be implied or assumed - Decision of an academic body of University re/at- , ing to equivalence should be by a specific order or resolution, duly published - Policy Decision. F Respondent No. 1 was declared succe~sful in Com- mon Entran·ce Test for apmission to three y·ears LLB. (Professional) Course, conducted by appellant~Univer sity. He was admitted in the respondent-college. The Uni- versity also permitted him to appear in the first seme_ster G -'i ., · examination after scrutinizing his records. Thereafter, the- University asked the responden-t-College to cancel the admission of respondent No. 1, on the ground that his basic degree for admission to the LL~B. Course i.e. M.A. 001 H 962 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008]14 S.C.R. A (English) from Annamalai University through Distance Education was not recognized by it. Respondent No. 1 challenged the same by filing a writ petition. The High · Court allowed_ the petition, directing the University to re- store the admission of respondent No. 1. B In the instant appeal, the University contended that Master's degree was considered as an eligible qµalifica- tion for admission only where the candidate had not se- cured 45% marks in the Bachelor's degree course; and that Master's degree under Open University System (OLIS) c was not recognized as equivalent to the Master's degree ·of the appellant-University. Dis_posing of the appeal, the Court HELD: 1.1 In view of the provisiop relating to eligibil- O ity b~ing unanibiguous, it is clear th* a Master's degree without a Bachelor's degree will satisfy the· eligibility re- quirement. The prescription of eligibility Griteria as per the Handbook of Information is very clear. It requires a Ba(l:helor's degree with not less than 45 marks or a Master's ·degree. The University's contention that the can- E didate must have a Bachelor's degree and only if his marks are less than .45%. in the Ba'chelor's degree course_; the. Master's deeree was to be considered, would mean that. the word 'or' should be substituted by the, words 'in ~ F the event of the candidate. not having 45% marks in Bachelor~s degree'. Reading such words· into the provi- sion i1. irhpermissible: The ~ord 'or' is di~junctive. No doubt, m some exceptional circumstances, the 'wor:d 'or' has 'been' read as conjunctive as meaning 'and.~ where the context warranted it. But the word 'or' carinot obvi- ously· be r:ead as referring to a conditional alternative, when 'such conditio~ri is not specified. [Para 8] (966-F, G, H; .967•A) 1.2 Under the Open University System (OUS), if a can- didate had passed 'th.e preparatory course examination . ·H . for admission to MA (English), he need not have a basic ' . ...... •. f- GURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY v. SANJAY 963 KUMAR KATWAL & ANR. ~ Bachelor's degree. It is true that normally a student can- A not enroll for a Master's degree course unless he has a basic Bachelor's degree in the chosen subject. But some Universities may provide for enrplment to a Master's de- gree course without a basic Bachelor's degree course, if certain requirements are fulfilled. Annamalai University B has, in fact, made such a provision for enrolment to M.A. ~- course by Distance E;ducation (OUS). [Para 11] (967-H; 968-A, B) 2.1 Equivalence is a technical academic matter. It cannot be implied or assumed. Any decision of the aca- c demic body of the university relating to equivalence
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