High Court cancels transfer of students to L.D. College

Gujarat High Court in a significant judgment has cancelled the excess transfers of students from other engineering colleges in the state to the L.D. college of engineering in Ahmedabad.

The division bench of Justice B.C. Patel and Justice R.R. Tripathi has directed the state government to invite applications for transfer and consider them in accordance to the government resolution of 1986, that fixed the maximum limits of transfer to the engineering college. The court said, "All the transfers issued by the state government, except those which have been made on the basis of genuine certificate issued by the medical board stand cancelled."

Students from the fifth semester of the L.D. engineering college had filed a PIL challenging the illegal transfer of students from other engineering colleges to L.D. engineering colleges, seeking court’s direction in the alleged illegal and arbitrary transfers on medical and personal reasons.

The court had earlier reserved its judgement in case. It was pronounced on Wednesday and with this judgement the fate of about 200 students (most of them in the mechanical faculty) of the college became clear as their illegal transfers stand cancelled. It may be recalled that state government through a resolution in 1986 had decided to fix the maximum limit of transfer to the L.D. college to five per cent of its intake capacity. The petition said the intake capacity of the college is 480 students, and hence a maximum of 25 students could be transferred.

However, about 200 students have been transferred by the authorities. Transfers exceed the intake capacity of the L.D. college of engineering and are in violation of the rules framed by the All India Council of Technical Education.

State government has already decided to appoint a committee to look into the alleged illegal transfers of engineering students from other colleges in the state to L.D. engineering college.

After the petition, the court had directed the state government to take a decision on the excess transfer of students from other engineering colleges to L.D. engineering college in Ahmedabad.

State government had submitted a letter to the division bench where it said the students’ medical board will examine the students, who have secured transfers on the medical grounds. It also said the committee will decide on the other illegal transfers also.

State government has already admitted that the transfer in several faculties in the L.D. engineering college exceeded the limits fixed by the government itself. Students from other engineering colleges situated at Bhuj, Modasa, Morbi, Bhavnagar, Vallabh Vidyanagar and Nadiad have taken transfers to L.D. college of engineering.

The petition had alleged that there was no enhancement of infrastructure facilities and the staff was also limited, which made the burden of extra students unbearable. It prayed for the cancellation of the transfer of these students.

Republished from Asian Age