Hours after the Supreme Court rejected St Stephen's College’s petition against the admission process, the college on Wednesday removed the prospectus from its website which was at the centre of a discord between it and Delhi University (DU).
The prospectus, which was on the website since May, for admission to the college's undergraduate (UG) courses for 2022-23 gave 85 per cent weightage to the Common University Entrance Test Admissions (CUET) and 15 per cent to the interview that the premier college has held for aspiring students for four decades.
This was against the DU’s new criteria which accorded 100 per cent weightage to the CUET only. Earlier in the day, the top court refused to stay the Delhi High Court (HC) order asking the college to follow the admission policy prescribed by the DU under which it cannot hold interviews for non-minority students in UG courses. A Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar said it was not inclined to interfere with the HC judgement. "We find no reason to stay the judgement, therefore the application for interim relief is dismissed," the Bench said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the college, said the interview process was applicable to all and not just non-minority students. "Delhi HC order says interview can only be for minority and rest as per the CUET. That is bad in law and unsustainable," he asserted.
The senior lawyer said the prestigious college has, for the last 40 years, given 15 per cent weightage to interview for admission against unreserved seats. Sibal also referred to the New Education Policy (NEP) of the Government and said marks should not be the criteria for admission in colleges.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi University, submitted that imposing a stay on the HC order will have a detrimental effect on the academic environment. Mehta contended the CUET has been introduced with a view to having a common standard of assessment and there is no requirement of a separate interview by the college.The HC had on September 12 asked the Christian minority institution to follow the admission policy formulated by the DU.
The HC Bench, while asking the college to withdraw its prospectus had, however, ruled the DU "cannot insist upon a single merit list for admission of candidates belonging to the Christian community regardless of denomination, etc."