Admission Can’t Be Termed Irregular After Student Completes Course: HC

Hyderabad: Justice S. Nanda of the Telangana High Court declared that long after a student has completed the course of study and was permitted to appear for the examination, the university cannot contend that the admission of the candidate was irregular or that he was ineligible for admission. The judge allowed a writ petition filed by V. Gandhi challenging an order of the Kakatiya University cancelling his MA degree and requiring him to surrender his certificate. The petitioner's admission to the course and his degree was sought to be cancelled on the basis of a complaint lodged against him. The controversy hovered around a certificate about him participating it an NSS camp, which, an enquiry committee found, was false. The petitioner was given admission in the SVSA College, Warangal, through counselling conducted by the director of admissions, Kakatiya University. Subsequently, the petitioner approached the university under the scheme of sliding from one college to another. The university after verifying the petitioner’s testimonials and rank obtained in the entrance test allowed the petitioner to pursue MA (Telugu) in the University College, Warangal. The petitioner completed the course with distinction and was awarded a gold medal and was selected for PhD. The petitioner specifically contended that his admission into MA (Telugu) course was based on the marks obtained in the entrance test and he was seeking admission in the university college under the scheme of sliding under the NSS category. The certificates that were issued by the NSS programme coordinator were duly signed by the varsity registrar. Justice Nanda pointed out that while reading a showcause notice the person who is subject to it must get an impression that he will get an effective opportunity to rebut the allegations. Therefore, while issuing a the notice, the authorities must take care to keep an open mind as they are to act fairly in adjudging the guilt or otherwise of the person proceeded against and specially when the authority has the power to take a punitive step against the person. She accordingly allowed a writ petition and set aside the interim order.

HC refuses interim order on interest and penalty dispute

A two-judge vacation panel of the Telangana High Court refused to grant interim orders on demand of interest and penalty against the assessee, Volta Impex Pvt. Ltd. The panel, comprising Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy and Justice Laxmi Narayana Alishetty, however, took on file a writ plea challenging the proceedings demanding penalty and interest. The petitioner had erroneously sought a refund of input tax credit. It was the case of the revenue officials that the erroneous claim was contrary to Rules 96(10), which prohibited refund in cases where the assessee had claimed other benefits under the law. According to the petitioner, on a self-evaluation, the amount sought was paid back. He, however, challenged the imposition of interest and penalty. The court refused to make an ad interim order in the absence of the government counsel.