MUMBAI: Bombay high court has imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on a college for belatedly informing a student last February, of his ineligibility to a BMS course he was admitted to in 2022, and denying him permission for final semester examination.The college said he was ineligible as he hadn’t cleared the HSC exam in the first attempt, as required. The cost must be paid in 2 week to the Mumbai University and its Examination Board, Justices RI Chagla and Farhan Dubash held in their July 1 order available on Friday.Mehul Ghavari, the student had last year petitioned the HC to challenge the denial of permission by the college to appear for the sixth semester.The college, Seth Hirachand Mutha College in Kalyan is “entirely to blame” and “student should not be made to suffer,’’ since the college was aware of his ineligibility in December 2022, yet allowed him to continue, said the HC.Mumbai University’s counsel Rui Rodrigues informed the HC that in December 2022 itself following scrutiny the college was informed that the students was amongst two, found to be ineligible.In March the HC had directed the college to comply with its December 2025 order permitting the student, represented by advocate Atharva Dandekar, to fill the exam form and now the student wanted his results.Advocate Sumit Kothari for the college submitted its affidavit dated June 29 which said the Covid-19 pandemic led to remote working, communication challenges, staff shortage and the unprecedented circumstances led to the “oversight in admission’’ to the Bachelor of Management Studies. It was “a human error’’, sans malafides.
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Rodrigues citing a July 2025 HC order against the same college for a similar oversight in the same course, in 2021-22, where while granting relief to that student, who cleared HSC in his third attempt– said, court imposts costs of Rs 50,000. The HC had directed the college to scrupulously follow the rules on eligibility. This was the second instance and heavy costs be imposed on college, Rodrigues argued.The HC, agreeing with MU counsel, said the college had committed lapse earlier too in student admission for the same course. “The Petitioner should not be made to suffer at the hands of the College,’’ the HC said and directing the results be given to the petitioner in a week, sought an undertaking from the college to not commit such lapses of granting admission to similarly placed students, in the future.
