Background Matrix 

In the Matter of Mehul Sureshkumar Champaneria v. Veer Narmad South Gujarat University a legal lawsuit brought by a student petitioner against the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Respondent’s decision to annul the petitioner’s whole LLB Examination result for all semesters. The current petitioner had applied for admission to the university’s LLB programme and turned in his transcript of records from Shridhar University, Pilani, Rajasthan. The University issued an eligibility certificate to enrol in the LLB Programme at D.D. Law College, Navsari on June 11, 2015. The petitioner had produced certificates from Shridhar University to be admitted to the LLB Course, but the University later discovered that they were phoney. As a result, the petitioner’s whole LLB Course result was thrown out.

Observation of the Court 

Nikhil S. Kariel, a single judge on the Gujarat high court bench, rejected the plea and affirmed the university’s judgement.

The University’s failure to catch the fraud during admission was deemed ludicrous by the Court, which also concluded that the petitioner was seeking to profit from his own mistake. The benefit was finally obtained by the petitioner, who was accountable for providing false paperwork. The petitioner could not benefit from the University’s negligence in failing to uncover the deception. Students who were facing the removal of their degree or certificate owing to a major offence including moral turpitude or scandalous conduct were protected under Section 47 of the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University Act. The Court determined that this safeguard was necessary to make sure that convictions do not automatically result in the University revoking a student’s degree or diploma. As a result, the petitioner, who was admitted to the LLB Course through deception, would not benefit from the protection.

The Court concluded that the State or its agents must uphold the principle of natural justice before retaliating against someone. In this instance, however, the petitioner did not provide any university-related documentation, such as a certificate from Shridhar University attesting to the accuracy of their mark lists. The university had already been told by the court that the petitioner’s provided mark sheets were false, thus the court rejected the case for lack of merit.

CASE NAME – Mehul Sureshkumar Champaneria v. Veer Narmad South Gujarat University R/Special Civil Application No. 7690 Of 2022.