Authority: High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital (Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay)
Order Date: 03.09.2026
Case Overview
- Parties: Petitioner Deepak Chandra Upreti vs. Respondents Soban Singh Jeena University and Others.
- Nature: Special Appeal No.361 of 2026 challenging the order of a Single Judge dated 19.08.2026 which dismissed the writ petition (WPMS No.2522/2026) seeking mandamus for a Ph.D. entrance exam conducted in 2026.
- Background: The petitioner argued that the Ph.D. entrance examination for the subject History did not comply with UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, specifically Regulation 5 requiring 50% of questions on research methodology and 50% subject‑specific.
- Findings: The court examined the exam paper titled “History” and observed that all questions were history‑subject based; no research‑methodology question was present. Counsel for the university could not produce any methodology question either.
- Seat allocation: Out of 30 advertised seats, only 3 were filled through the entrance test, 7 seats were filled by JRF‑qualified candidates, leaving 20 seats vacant.
- Procedural history: On 01.09.2026 the matter was adjourned for the university to seek instructions. On 03.09.2026 the university, through counsel C.S. Rawat, informed the court that the Registrar had instructed the university to conduct another entrance test for the remaining 20 seats in strict compliance with UGC Regulation 5, without any delay.
Final Outcome
- The writ petition is disposed of in the same terms as the Single Judge’s order, with the additional direction that the university must hold a fresh Ph.D. entrance examination for the remaining 20 seats in accordance with the UGC Regulations, 2022, and must do so without delay.
- Any pending applications, if any, are also disposed of.
Topics: Higher Education, Legal Order