The Delhi High Court has ruled that rejecting a Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate’s admission on purely technical grounds constitutes a violation of fundamental rights. The court directed Delhi University (DU) to admit a student whose application was initially denied because of the delayed submission of an SC certificate.
The ruling, issued on December 12, emphasized the importance of ensuring that procedural hurdles do not override substantive justice. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted that denying admission on technicalities could undermine the constitutional goal of uplifting marginalized communities. The court pointed out that SC status is determined by birth and lineage, not by the possession of a certificate, which merely serves as evidence of caste status.
The case involved a petitioner, Saksham, who applied for a Bachelor of Arts (Vocational Studies) course but was rejected for not submitting his SC certificate on time. He argued that the delay in obtaining the certificate was beyond his control, as he had applied for it months earlier but only received it after the deadline. DU opposed his plea, claiming he had provided incorrect information about the issuance date of the certificate.
Despite DU’s objections, the court ordered the university to facilitate the student’s admission process, noting that the certificate had been submitted before the admission deadline.
“If an individual belongs to the SC or ST category, such status is determined by birth and is an inherent characteristic of an individual. In other words, such a certificate only confirms an individual’s caste status, it does not create or confer it. Instead, the caste status exists independently of the certificate and is derived from the individual’s lineage and social categorization at birth,”
The judge stressed that denying such opportunities would contradict the principles of justice and equity upheld by the Constitution.
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