Chhattisgarh High Court Denies Plea Of Student Simultaneously Enrolled In Two Degrees, Seeking Modification Of Clashing Exam Timetables
Saahas Arora
2 July 2025 6:45 PM IST
The Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed a plea of Satyendra Prakash Suryawanshi— a student enrolled in two simultaneous academic programmes, who requested modifications to his final exam timetable in order to prevent a scheduling conflict and pleaded conducting the exams at separate times or on different dates.
The petitioner was pursuing an M.S.W. from Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (Open) University and LL.B from Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya.
In this regard, Justice Arvind Kumar Verma held,
“Taking into consideration the fact that the relief which has been sought by the petitioner cannot be granted in exercise of writ jurisdiction and the petitioner has no locus to direct the respondent authorities to make modifications in the final examination timetable for the two academic programmes, i.e. M.S.W. from Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (Open) University and LL.B (Part-III, 2ND Semester) from Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya, in view of the considered opinion of this Court, no case is made out for any interference.”
Background
The Court was dealing with a writ petition seeking direction to the respondent universities to amend their respective final examination timetables so as to prevent overlapping exam schedules arising from the petitioner's simultaneous enrolment in two academic programmes.
It was the case of the petitioner that the examination timetables released by both institutions were in direct conflict, as examinations for four of the petitioner's subjects were scheduled on the same date and at the same time. He stated had taken re-admission on account of notifications issued by the Registrar, Pt. Sundarlal Sharma (Open) University (Respondent 2) and the Exam Controller, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya (Respondent 4), which he claimed were arbitrary.
He further submitted that the University Grants Commission has issued a revised order regarding pursuit of two degrees simultaneously, which removed all ambiguities. He further contended that the Government of Chhattisgarh has constituted a Task Force for the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 and has directed all state universities to make the curriculum inclusive. Alleging mismanagement and lack of institutional commitment to the implementation of NEP, the petitioner invoked Article 21 of the Constitution, asserting that the scheduling conflict violated his right to life and personal liberty, and subsequently sought a stay on the examination timetable pending the outcome of the petition.
However, the Single Judge rejected the plea of the petitioner, holding that the relief sought by him cannot be granted in exercise of writ jurisdiction and held that the petitioner had no locus standi to direct the respondent authorities to make amendments in the examination schedules.
Case Details:
Case Number: WPC No. 3068 of 2025
Case Title: Satyendra Prakash Suryawanshi v. State Of Chhattisgarh