The incident took place about two weeks ago, according to a relative, who says: ``Only his name was written in Punjabi. Everything else was in English. Still, the officials refused him admission, claiming they could not decipher his name. He then got the documents attested, but that also did not serve any purpose,'' she recounts.

``Later, when I wentto the university with the boy, I told the officials that I could read and write Punjabi but they taunted us saying, `Have you come here to teach us Punjabi?' They unnecessarily harassed us only because the name was not in a language that they understood,'' she says. Finally, they accepted the application. ``Had it been someone who didn't know anyone who could help him in the city, he would have been in real trouble,'' she adds.

University Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Naresh Chandra says it is a policy decision to ask for a certified copy of the translation of the degree certificate, if the script is in any language other than English.

According to an IDE official, who was not aware of the specifics of the case: ``When the eligibility certificate was shown, they should not have refused.'' Deputy Registrar (Public Relations) V P Chavan says the university has no policy decision to reject candidates according to language or region.