Nearly three months after Delhi University constituted a committee to address the long standing policy implementation disputes with St. Stephen's college, no meeting has taken place between the two sides, delaying efforts to resolve allegations of the college disregarding university rules, a committee member said on Tuesday.

 In August last year, St. Stephen's rejected the applications of 12 'single girl child' students seeking admission to its undergraduate programmes beyond its declared seat capacity.

 DU had previously asked all its colleges to admit students beyond its seat limit for optimal filling of seats.

 The parents of the affected students challenged the matter in the Supreme Court, and after a prolonged delay, the college enrolled the students, allowing them to attend classes on the court's order.

 Following this, in October last year, Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh formulated a three-member panel to hold talks with the college principal John Varghese after the college denied admission to over a dozen students, including those who applied under DU's newly introduced single girl child quota, for UG admissions.

 Despite the urgency of these issues, the committee members said no meetings have been held because DU has not issued an official directive to convene them. This is further delaying the efforts to resolve the concerns regarding university rules.

 "The university has not issued any formal directive to convene the meeting, so there has not been any progress on this front. Without an official order, it is difficult to initiate the process," a committee member said.

 "Given the approaching elections, it seems unlikely that a meeting will take place anytime soon," another member added.

 St. Stephen's principal John Varghese said the college has not even been informed about the committee's formation.

 "We have not received so far any note or email or communication from the university regarding a meeting or proposed meeting to address the admissions-related concerns," he said.   "We came to know through media reports that such a committee had been set up but were neither appraised about it nor were we approached by the university on the matter," Varghese added.

 The Delhi University has once again announced that a single seat would be reserved for single girl child in each postgraduate programme for the 2025-26 session, which is pending approval from the highest decision-making body of the university -- the Executive Council.   When asked if St Stephen's will implement this reservation in its post-graduation programmes if it gets a green nod, Varghese did not respond.

 St. Stephen's College operates under its own "Supreme Council," which is composed of members from the Church of North India. The council is chaired by the Bishop of the Diocese of Delhi and is responsible for making decisions on matters concerning the religious character of the college.