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The Delhi High Court has disposed of a plea filed by Students’ Federation of India-Jawaharlal Nehru University Unit, seeking directions to the University (JNU) to reconsider its decision regarding allocation of 100% PhD seats to Junior Research Fellowship category candidates for the academic year 2021-22.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh ordered so after they were informed that the admission process for the ongoing academic year was already been completed.

However, the Court granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the appropriate authority in accordance with law. 

Filed through Advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh, the plea averred that in the previous years, the PhD seats in seven centres of Jawaharlal Nehru University were filled up through both JRF category candidates as well as non-JRF candidates on the basis of an entrance examination.

It added that, alternatively, in the current academic year, JNU decided to fill-up all PhD seats through JRF category candidates in the seven centres.

The petitioners further submitted that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UGC-NET-JRF exams, which are originally held twice a year, were neither held in December 2020 nor in May 2021, due to which non-JRF PhD candidates could not get an opportunity to take UGC-NET-JRF examination for no fault of theirs.

As such, this change in JNU policy to completely close doors for non-JRF category candidates, who used to participate in the entrance examination earlier was alleged to be totally unreasonable and irrational.

Cause Title: Students’ Federation of India-Jawaharlal Nehru University Unit vs Jawaharlal Nehru University