The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench recently imposed a substantial penalty of two lakh rupees on the University of Lucknow for withholding a student’s results due to unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct. Priyanka Dubey, a third-year B.Sc. student, faced allegations of answer sheet manipula
The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench recently imposed a substantial penalty of two lakh rupees on the University of Lucknow. This decision came after the university withheld a student’s results due to allegations of misconduct, despite lacking any definite and concrete findings of the student’s culpability.
Priyanka Dubey, a third-year B.Sc. student, appeared for her exams in 2009. She faced allegations of answer sheet manipulation in six subjects. However, the university failed to present any substantive evidence or reach a clear decision regarding these allegations, leaving her in academic limbo for several years.
The bench of Justice Alok Mathur said, “No opportunity was given to the petitioner nor there is a definite finding with regard to the culpability of the petitioner…the Lucknow University is responsible for ruining the career of a student”.
After her results were withheld, Dubey’s repeated attempts to resolve the issue went unanswered by the university, which neither confirmed the alleged misconduct nor absolved her of it. On February 20, 2010, a show cause notice was issued, demanding a response within 15 days. Dubey complied, submitting her reply on March 12, 2010, vehemently denying the allegations. Despite this, the university remained silent, neither communicating any decision nor progressing the case further.
In 2012, more than three years after the initial examinations, the University’s Examination Committee decided to allow Dubey to appear as an exempted candidate in the 2012-13 academic year while cancelling her 2009 examinations. Crucially, this decision was never communicated to Dubey, preventing her from taking the 2012-13 examinations.
In 2014, Dubey approached the court with a writ petition, after which she was informed about a fresh decision by the university dated November 15, 2014, reiterating the cancellation of her 2009 examinations and allowing her to retake the exams in 2014-15. This fresh decision led to the filing of the current writ petition.
The High Court highlighted the university’s gross negligence and failure to adhere to the principles of natural justice. It noted that the Examination Committee’s order dated November 15, 2014, lacked any concrete findings proving the alleged answer sheet manipulation by Dubey. Instead, it was based on mere conjecture and presumption.
The Court emphasized that the show cause notice issued in 2010 was cryptic and lacked essential details, including copies of the answer sheets and the inquiry report, which were necessary for Dubey to mount a proper defence. The university’s failure to communicate its decisions to Dubey further compounded the injustice, rendering the proceedings arbitrary and illegal, the court held.
The Court reiterated that non-communication of orders nullifies them and prevents any further action based on such orders, while referring to several Supreme Court rulings, in the case of Bachhittar Singh v. State of Punjab and State of Punjab v. Resham Singh, which establish that administrative orders must be communicated to the affected party to be effective.
The High Court declared both the 2012 and 2014 orders as illegal and non-est. It criticized the University for its negligent conduct, which deprived Dubey of her right to complete her education in a timely manner.
Priyanka Dubey v. State of U.P. Thru Prin.Secy.Higher Edu.Civil Sectt.
