Delhi HC Seeks St. Stephen's Response on DU PG Admissions Appeal

The Delhi High Court has requested St. Stephen’s College to respond to an appeal by Delhi University (DU). The appeal challenges a previous order allowing the college to conduct interviews for minority students seeking admission to postgraduate (PG) courses. The college allocates 15% of marks to the interview and 85% to the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) score.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued a notice regarding DU's appeal against the single judge's order from April 22. The single judge had specified that non-minority students would not face interviews for PG admissions at St. Stephen’s College. Their admission would be based solely on their CUET scores, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Disproportionate Allocation of Seats

The single judge also instructed DU to ensure fair allocation of PG seats at St. Stephen’s College. The college had previously claimed that DU was allotting an insufficient number of seats for its PG courses compared to other affiliated colleges. This issue was raised in the college's plea before the single judge.

DU had strongly objected to St. Stephen’s College's practice of conducting additional interviews for already shortlisted students. According to DU, all other colleges adhered to the university's selection process without subjecting students to further interviews. However, St. Stephen’s College was following a different procedure.

University's Conditional Acceptance

The university’s counsel later stated that DU would not object if St. Stephen’s College limited interviews to Christian minority students only. Additionally, DU would ensure proportional seat allocation for PG courses at the college under these conditions.

The appeal is scheduled for a hearing in October.