Supreme Court refuses to stay Delhi HC order asking St Stephen's College to follow DU admission policy

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by Delhi University’s St Stephen’s College seeking stay on stay Delhi High Court order which had asked it to follow the DU admission policy according to which 100 percent weightage has to be given to the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) 2022 score while granting admission to non-minority students in its undergraduate courses.

A bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar said, “We find on reason to stay the judgment.” “However, what action to be taken pursuant to the admission process shall be subject to final outcome of petition,” it said and listed the hearing for mid March.

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The high court had said the college cannot conduct interviews for non-minority category students and that the admission should be as per the CUET score alone. The high court had also said the rights accorded to a minority institution under the Constitution cannot be extended to non-minorities. It had said the college has the authority to conduct interviews, in addition to the CUET score, for the admission of Christian students but it cannot force the non-minority candidates to additionally undergo an interview.

The college, for its part, had said it will accord 85 per cent weightage to the CUET score and 15 per cent to physical interviews for "all categories of candidates".

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The HC bench, while asking St Stephen's to withdraw its prospectus giving 15 per cent weightage to interview for admission to these unreserved seats, besides taking into consideration the CUET score of a candidate, had, however, ruled that the DU "cannot insist upon a single merit list for admission of candidates belonging to the Christian community regardless of denomination, etc". The high court's order had come on petitions filed by a law student and the college with respect to the legality of the procedure for admission of students against unreserved non-minority seats for UG courses.