Jaskirat Kaur vs. State Of Haryana And Others Vs State Of Haryana

Held

The Court allowed the writ petition. It found that the petitioner had made sincere attempts to fulfill all requirements within the prescribed time. The bank statements showed that the fee amount was debited on multiple occasions but returned by the ICICI Bank, where the Admission Committee's account was held. The Court acknowledged that the petitioner was not at fault and that the failure was due to a technical anomaly in the banking transaction, which was beyond her control. The Court emphasized that denying admission on a purely technical ground would be unjust, disproportionate, and unfair, especially given the petitioner's academic merit and diligent efforts. The Court noted that the issue was squarely covered by a previous decision in CWP No. 28650 of 2024 (Vanshika Sabharwal vs. State of Haryana and others). The Court directed the Admission Committee to grant admission to the petitioner in the allotted seat and allowed her to physically deposit the tuition fee within three days. If the bank failed to accept the amount, she could deposit it via demand draft within two working days. The Chairman of the Admission Committee was requested to provide all possible assistance.

Facts

The petitioner, Jaskirat Kaur, was allocated an NRI seat in MBBS at Adesh Medical College & Hospital. Her brother transferred the tuition fee of Rs. 28,38,250/- on September 30, 2024. She was later allocated a seat in the third round of counseling. The fee deposit window was from October 15-18, 2024, with document verification from October 19-21, 2024. The remaining fee of Rs. 4,20,165.22 was deposited on October 16, 2024. However, when she appeared for document verification, she was denied participation as the deposited amount was returned by the Admission Committee's bank on October 21, 2024. The amount was re-deposited the same day, but she was still not allowed to participate. The Admission Committee argued that the fee was re-deposited after the deadline of October 18, 2024.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be allowed to participate in the document verification process for MBBS admission despite the tuition fee being re-deposited after the stipulated deadline of October 18, 2024, given that the initial deposit was returned due to banking technicalities beyond her control? (Question of mixed law and fact, turning on principles of equity and fairness in admission processes). Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner argued that she made sincere attempts to deposit the fee within the prescribed time. She presented bank statements showing multiple attempts to deposit Rs. 7,50,000/- (in an identical case, Vanshika Sabharwal vs. State of Haryana and others, CWP No. 28650 of 2024) on October 18, 2024, which were debited but returned by the bank. She contended that the failure was due to a technical anomaly in the banking transaction, not her fault, and she should not be penalized for systemic failure. She relied on the principle of justice and fairness and the fact that her future was at stake. Respondents' arguments: The Admission Committee relied on a public notice dated August 16, 2024, stating they would not be responsible for transaction failures or delays in fee deposit. They argued that the fee was re-deposited on October 21, 2024, which was after the last date of October 18, 2024, and thus, the petitioner was not entitled to relief.