Delhi HC allows DU to add member in Grievance Redressal Committee for OBE

The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed Delhi University to add a member in Grievance Redressal Committee, which is taking care of issues arising in online Open Book Examination (OBE), being conducted by the varsity.

The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed Delhi University to add a member in Grievance Redressal Committee, which is taking care of issues arising in online Open Book Examination (OBE), being conducted by the varsity. A Division Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad ordered that Professor SC Rai shall also be a part of the Grievance Redressal Committee.

Adding Rai, now Grievance Redressal Committee will be of 6-members. The Committee shall be at liberty to seek assistance from any officer of the Delhi University if so directed by the chairperson, the court said. "The entire purpose of adding external members to the Committee appears to be to make it independent and pellucid, which can hardly be faulted," the court said.

The court directed that the committee will assemble virtually for conducting its first meeting on August 17 or as may be directed by the Chairperson. The order passed today shall be communicated by learned counsel for the appellant/University to all the members of the Committee including the newly added member in the course of the day, the court said and disposed of the petition. But, the court also made it clear the present order has been passed in the peculiar and unprecedented facts and circumstances of the present case and shall not be treated as a precedent in any other matter.

"We are of the opinion that reconstitution of the Grievance Redressal Committee neither impinges on the integrity of the appellant/University nor does it intrude on its authority. In fact, selecting members of the Committee who are not a part of the University, but have sufficient experience at hand, would only add to its stature and endorse the impartiality of the process more so when it is headed by a retired judge of the High Court," the court said. "It is also pertinent to note that the other two members of the Committee nominated by the Single Judge have volunteered to act pro bono and there is no financial burden cast on the University on their addition except for the lump sum fee of the Chairperson and of the Principal Co-ordinator," the court said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by DU challenging single-judge bench order on reconstitution of Grievance Redressal Committee. The Grievance Redressal Committee would deal with all the grievances of the students in respect of downloading of question papers, uploading of answer sheets, technical glitches, delays in uploading and any other issues faced by students during the conduct of the OBE examinations.

Senior Advocate Sachin Datta, appearing for the Delhi University, stated that the Single Judge has exceeded the jurisdiction vested in her by treating the writ petition as a PIL and passing a slew of directions including reconstituting the said Committee. He also said that reconstitution of the Grievances Redressal Committee is most unwarranted and reflects poorly on the Delhi University and its integrity. Countering him, advocate Akash Sinha, counsel for the students supported the impugned order and stated that there is no reason for the University to harbour any grievance against the reconstitution of the Grievance Redressal Committee particularly when two of the members nominated by the appellant/University to the Committee have been retained.

Allowing DU to go ahead with OBE, the single-judge bench has also passed certain directions including one that the uploaded answer sheets of students shall also be simultaneously sent for evaluation to the respective teachers or faculty to ensure that declaration of results is not delayed in any manner. (ANI)

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