Supreme Court Ruling: Educational Institutions Cannot Penalize Students for Administrative Clerical Errors Regarding Degrees

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a significant judgment reinforcing the rights of students against administrative negligence by educational institutions. In the case of Pratima Das Vs State of Himachal Pradesh And Ors., the Apex Court ruled that a bona fide student cannot be denied their academic credentials, such as mark sheets and degrees, solely due to inadvertent clerical mistakes committed by the University authorities.

Case Background and Factual Matrix

The controversy centered around the Appellant, a student of the BA LL.B. (5-year) programme at Manav Bharti University (MBU) for the academic session 2017-2022. The Appellant had successfully secured admission under a specific Admission Number and Registration Number.

However, the University faced legal scrutiny following the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) alleging the issuance of fake degrees. Consequently, a Special Investigation Team seized the University's records in 2019. This ongoing investigation and the subsequent custody of records by authorities created a bottleneck for legitimate students attempting to procure their final academic documents.