The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the petition questioning UGC’s order to scrap the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) of the Delhi University (DU) to approach the Delhi High Court.
The Vacation Bench of Justices Vikramajit Sen and SK Singh directed the petitioner Aditya Narayan Mishra, who is a former DUTA president, to approach the Delhi High Court. Mishra, who is an Assistant Professor at Aurobindo College, had submitted that the matter related to the future of students whose careers were put in jeopardy by the UGC’s decision to scrap the FYUP.
On June 20, the UGC had scrapped the FYUP citing fault with the manner in which it was introduced. The Commission directed the DU to continue with admissions under the Three-Year Undergraduate Programme (TYUP). The UGC had issued directions both to DU and all 64 colleges under it to conduct admissions under the TYUP.
It even warned DU colleges of “consequences” if they failed to implement the Commission’s direction. The petitioner, who supported the FYUP, requested the court to examine the constitutional validity of the UGC order, which initially had approved of FYUP to be introduced last year. But the apex court was not impressed.
“You go to High Court. The High Court will consider the matter and we could have the benefit of High Court’s reasoning on the issue,” said the Bench. The petitioner urged the court to hear the case as the matter had already been filed in apex court. The bench asked him to withdraw the matter from Registry and approach the Delhi HC, seeking same relief.
Both DU and UGC are at loggerheads over the course and a group of DU teachers on Tuesday went on a 24-hour hunger strike demanding rollback of Commission’s order.