Admission can be denied on disciplinary grounds: High Court on Jamia Millia Islamia case

An educational institute is "well within" its right to deny admission to a successful candidate if he adversely affects the institute's discipline, the Delhi High Court has ruled.

"The right of an educational institution to either admit or deny admission is beyond dispute and no student has a right to compel an institution that he should be admitted," a bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice R S Endlaw said.

The bench said a selected candidate is entitled to admission, but "equally, it is the solemn responsibility on the part of the university to consider the past conduct of the student even if such student was ranked for the admission".

"If the admission of the appellant is not conducive for good administration of the university and if it affects discipline among other students, it would be well within its right to refuse admission," the bench said.

The responsibility of an institute is to not only impart education but also to inculcate discipline, the court said.

The court made the observation, while upholding the decision of a single-judge bench, which had dismissed the plea of Hamidur Rehman that he was arbitrarily denied admission to MA (Persian) by Jamia Millia Islamia.

Rehman had said he had secured the 21st rank in the entrance test. He said there were 30 seats in the course, but the university admitted only 20 students to deny him admission.

The court dismissed the appeal, taking note of reports from "heads of each of the departments, which stated that the appellant was offensive and aggressive against the university".

"We find that the denial of admission of the appellant is not unjustified, unfair or arbitrary and for that reason, the appellant cannot seek admission as a matter of right," the order said.

The court said the right of an institute to grant or deny admission and the right to admission of a student are beyond dispute, but they have certain limitations.

"We are not oblivious of the importance of discipline among students. Universities today have striven to ensure principled conduct for admission of students and transition to higher education. The code of conduct is amongst the necessary elements, which are needed for admission of any student in schools or universities," the court said.

"Discipline in schools and universities must be recognised as prioritised criteria for admission of a student in a particular course," it said.

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