Private candidate gets relief on LLB admission

The full bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice R Subbaiah and Justice Abdul Quddhose in a recent order had held as above while dealing with the aspect of whether a student can be denied admission to the three-year LLB course in the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University only on the basis that he cleared the Higher Secondary Examination five to six years after his secondary school leaving certificate examination without going to any recognized school, for 

Classes 11 and 12. 

Holding that when a regular certificate is granted by a recognized board, there is a presumption that the candidate was eligible to be conferred the certificate, the bench in its order held, “To hold otherwise would be to open the Pandora’s box, for years later certificates might be questioned on grounds such as inadequate attendance, failure to clear internal test examinations and the like and it would be impossible for candidates possessing the degree and/or certificate to adduce cogent materials and/or evidence to satisfy those questioning the certificates.” 

Allowing the writ petition and noting that the petitioner shall be admitted to the ensuing session of three-year law course, subject to compliance with all requisite formalities for obtaining admission, the bench said, “The language and tenor of Rules 5(a) and 5(b) read with the first proviso and the explanation make it amply clear that prosecution of a regular course is mandatory only for the immediately previous qualifying certificate and/ or degree, for example, graduate degree for the three year LLB Course and Senior Secondary Certificate for the Integrated Degree Program.” 

“Had the rules intended otherwise, they would have specifically provided that candidates would not be eligible for admission to the three year LLB unless they had obtained the secondary and senior secondary certificates through a regular course or through distance or correspondence mode,” the bench added.