Contributed by Abhinav Kaushik *
Award of Gold medal to students – to be decided on merits or to be awarded as a matter of tradition? The matter was put before Delhi High Court vide a petition subsequent to a protracted wrestle with Jamia Milia University. The petitioner Sh. Aishwarya Pathak sought the information from JMI under the RTI Act as to any guidelines regarding selection of candidates for award of Gold medal. However, it was a bolt from the blue to hear from the venerated University that there are no guidelines for conferring gold medals and it is rather a matter of tradition which has been followed for many years. Considering the enormity of the matter Hon’ble High Court decided that the matter was in the nature of a public interest litigation.
The matter has raised a question mark on the entire mechanics of selection of meritorious candidates who toil hard to get ranks but their efforts and results are not accredited in the garb of some “followed procedures”. One school of thought aligns the matter with the right to education, but is it such a momentous issue or has the potential to become one if followed after other RTI applications to confront some time-honoured approaches that have plagued the education system. One amongst us has unearthed these flawed procedures and we are ardently waiting for the matter to be taken up by the Apex Court next month to decide on the question of MERITS Vs TRADITION.
*Corporate Lawyer.For any query please contact at kaushikabhi@rediffmail.com
Note:- The views of the writer are his personal views. Neither the Legal Point Foundation nor its employees are responsible for the views of the writer.
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