The Delhi High Court, in a ruling issued on Monday, has granted permission to St. Stephen’s College, affiliated with Delhi University, to conduct interviews as part of the admission process for minority students applying to post-graduate courses. These interviews will contribute 15% towards the overall admission criteria, while the remaining 85% will be based on the candidates’ scores in the Common University Entrance Test (CUET).

In its decision, the High Court specified that non-minority students will not be required to undergo any interview process for admission to PG courses at the college. Their admission will be solely determined by their performance in the CUET examination. Justice C Hari Shankar emphasized the importance of ensuring fairness in the allocation of PG seats, suggesting that factors such as available infrastructure and the number of undergraduate students enrolled in each course be considered by Delhi University (DU).

Acknowledging the absence of clear guidelines governing PG seat allocation, the court deemed the situation unacceptable and urged DU to develop transparent policies to prevent arbitrary decisions. To address St. Stephen’s College’s concerns regarding disproportionate seat allocation, the court directed DU to explore the formulation of appropriate guidelines.

St. Stephen’s College had expressed dissatisfaction with the number of PG seats allocated to it compared to other colleges. DU raised objections to the college’s practice of conducting additional interviews for selected students, leading to discrepancies in admissions. DU assured the court that fair seat allocation would be ensured for St. Stephen’s if the college restricted interviews to applicants from the Christian minority.

Given DU’s commitment to equitable allocation for St. Stephen’s, the court refrained from examining the reasonableness of DU’s seat allocation method.

Source: PTI

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