The Delhi High Court on Thursday pulled up the Delhi University for "unilaterally" asking St Stephen's College to admit students over and above the sanctioned seats and said it would compromise the quality of education.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela told the counsel for DU, "If you are asking the college to do so, you are diluting the education. You are compromising the quality of education. Will that be in the interest of students?"

"Prima facie, the university cannot unilaterally ask any college to take admissions over and above the sanctioned strength. Sanctioned strength means what was sanctioned at the time of granting affiliation or recognition to a course in a college," it added.

The high court was hearing a seat allocation dispute between the college and Delhi University (DU) and said seats couldn't be unilaterally increased as it needed to be ensured that adequate number of teachers and infrastructure was also available with the college.

However, the DU counsel submitted that it was not asking the college to increase the seats in any course.

The bench was hearing an appeal by the college against a single-judge's September 6, 2024 order which granted admission to seven students on the basis of the seats allocated by the varsity.  The court asked the DU counsel to show the statute or resolution relating to the original seat allocation and asked if the university could unilaterally increase the seat allocation.

The counsel placed certain documents and said it was a practice followed by the university.  The bench however said, "You are a central university and you need to have some statutory backing or resolution of the academic council or executive council."

It went on, "You cannot go only by practice. Every act of a statutory body has to be backed by laws, circulars or resolutions."  The court posted the hearing on February 20.

The single judge granted the relief to the seven students, saying the candidates were not at fault but had to face undue hardship due to an ongoing dispute between the institution and the university.  The students sought a direction to the college to provide them seats for the courses for which they have qualified.  They had sought admission under the "single girl child quota" fixed by the DU.

According to the university's bulletin for admission information, one seat in each programme in every college is reserved under the "supernumerary quota for a single girl child".  The college opposed the DU's stand that it was obliged to admit all candidates who were allotted seats through the university's common seat allocation system and it couldn't admit students beyond the sanctioned limit.