Unmukt Chand promoted to second year

India's Under-19 cricket captain Unmukt Chand won his battle with his St Stephen's College on Friday, with Delhi University allowing him to move to the second year and complete his first year exams in the forthcoming semesters, recognising his case as "rarest of rare".

With much hue and cry raised over St Stephen's decision to bar Unmukt from exams due to low attendance, Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh, who received a phone call from HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, intervened in the matter, allowing him "to move to the second year of study".

He would be allowed "to clear his examinations during the course of third and fourth semesters for the backlog of the first two semesters," Singh told reporters.

Unmukt, who captained the Under-19 Indian side to World Cup victory recently, had earlier moved the Delhi High Court against St Stephen's College.

"He has done so much for the country. We will recognise that... The situation has been very unfortunate. The University has been very liberal in this regard.

"The college did not bring it to our notice. We would have helped them earlier. Nobody, not even Unmukt, approached us. I wish he had come to us earlier," Singh said.

Sibal had yesterday spoken to both Singh and St Stephen's Principal Valson Thampu.

Singh had yesterday indicated his "positive inclination" on addressing the issue in Unmukt's favour. Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken had also written a letter to Singh in this regard.

"Unmukt has distinguished himself and brought laurels to the nation through his exploits in the field of cricket by not only representing his country but also by playing a crucial role in helping India to win the U-19 World Cup," he said.

The University recognised his outstanding achievement in a field of sport and comes under the category of "rarest of rare" cases under its regulations and so they decided to take a liberal approach on the issue, Singh said.

... contd.

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