Students Resorting To Unfair Means In Exams Cannot Build This Nation, Must Be Dealt With Heavy Hand: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that students who resort to unfair means in examinations and get away with it cannot build this nation and must be dealt with a heavy hand.

"Persons using unfair means to steal march over students who work hard to prove their worth has to be dealt with a heavy hand. Students, who resort to unfair means and get away with it, cannot build this nation. They cannot be dealt with leniently and they should be made to learn a lesson not to adopt unfair means in their life," a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad observed.

The court made the observations while dismissing an appeal of an engineering student who was found using unfair means in the end-term second semester examination in two subjects. The University had imposed Category IV punishment on him and cancelled all second semester examinations taken by him.

The University had also automatically cancelled his registration for the third semester and he was directed to register himself for second semester along with the students admitted this year.

As per the University, the petitioner had shared a question paper in a Whatsapp group during the examination, along with hand written and print out of the answers during the examination. It was also found that the chats of some of the students were addressed to the petitioner for questions and answers.

The single judge had rejected petitioner's plea after observing that the decision taken by the University did not warrant any interference.

Upholding the single judge order, the court observed that the University has been lenient in imposing Category IV punishment on the petitioner rather than rusticating the cheaters.

"Be that as it may, may, the Vice Chancellor and the learned Single Judge have taken into account all the facts. The argument of the learned Counsel for the Appellant that the Appellant's phone was being used when he was in the examination centre does not impress this court and does not warrant interference," the court said.

Advocates Sriram Parakkat, Vishnu Shankar M S and Athira G Nair appeared for the appellant.

Title: YOGESH PARIHAR v. DELHI TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY & ORS.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 1214

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