Delhi HC allows JNU to continue admissions based on deprivation points

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday permitted the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to continue with the admission process for its postgraduate courses, which was earlier halted by a single-judge bench over a challenge to the award of "deprivation points" to certain candidates.

"Deprivation points" are awarded to candidates coming from certain backward geographical locations. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia modified the single judge's order, and stated that the admissions would be subject to the outcome of the challenge.

On August 14, the single judge halted admissions based on "deprivation points" following a petition by Amit Mehra, who aspired to be admitted to a post-graduate course in the university. The single judge had ordered that the admissions shall not be finalized and no further steps would be taken in this regard till August 24.

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Dealing with JNU's appeal against the order, the division bench observed that the practice of awarding "deprivation points" has been present since 1974 and the entire admission process had been "put to a halt" due to the single judge's direction.

The court noted that the e-prospectus for academic year 2026-2027 was issued on April 3 and the admission process began was May 25.

Classes for postgraduate students who took admission pursuant to the first round of counselling also began on July 30, the court observed, as it remarked that the petition against 'deprivation points' should not have been filed at the last minute, but before the admission process started.

It also questioned how an interim stay could be sustained in the absence of a prima facie finding in favour of such a relief. "Unless some prima facie finding is recorded that for this reason the practice of grant of deprivation points is illegal, how can admission process be stalled?," the court asked.

"The University shall carry on with the admission process as per the provisions in the e-prospectus, including the provisions which are under challenge before the single judge. However, any admission hence made will be subject to the outcome of the writ petition," it ordered.

The court asked the single judge to decide the petition as early as possible. Mehra, who filed the petition before the single judge, defended the August 14 order and argued that "deprivations points" make the score obtained by a candidate in the CUET nugatory.

JNU's counsel submitted that the single-judge's order has brought the ongoing admission process to a standstill. He said one of the objectives in the JNU Act is to ensure representation of teachers and students from across the country, and the system of deprivation points was designed in furtherance of this goal.