- (1.) Heard Smt. M.R. Chauhan, learned Counsel for the Petitioners in all the writ petitions except Writ Petition No. 56187 of 2009 (at Serial No. 5). No one appeared on behalf of Petitioners in the said writ petition and Smt. M.R. Chauhan, learned Counsel, categorically stated that she was not appearing for the Petitioners in the said writ petition.
(2.) The Petitioners of these nine writ petitions (34 in total) are students of Bachelor of Dental Science (BDS) course which they are pursuing from four dental colleges affiliated to Chaudhery Charan Singh University, Meerut, Respondent No. 1 in all the writ petitions. The colleges are run by Maharaji Educational Trust, Santosh Nagar, Ghaziabad (Respondent No. 2 in the I and II writ petitions), Dayanand Pushpadevi Charitable Trust, Ghaziabad (Respondent No. 2 in the III, IV & VII writ petitions), Hindustan Institute of Dental Science, Greater NOIDA, Gautam Buddh Nagar (Respondent No. 4 in the v. writ petition) and Kunj Behari Lal Charitable Trust Indraprasth Dental College and Hospital, Shahibabad, District Ghaziabad (Respondent No. 2 in the VI, VIII and IX writ petitions). All these colleges are affiliated to Respondent No. 1 University. Apart from these, 7 or 8 other dental colleges are also affiliated to the same University.
(3.) All the Petitioners took admission in or about August, 2006. The BDS course is of four years. First year examination was held in December, 2007 and second year examination was held in December, 2008. All the Petitioners were promoted/ carried over to next year even if they had failed in more than one paper of the previous year. This was done in spite of clear prohibition in that regard by Regulations of 1983 & 2007. The Regulations have been framed by Dental Council of India (D.C.I.). The Regulations of 1983 and of 2007 have been quoted in a letter sent by D.C.I. on 08.06.2009 to Secretary/ Registrar, Chaudhery Charan Singh University, Meerut, which is Annexure CA-IV to the counter affidavit filed by the University in the first writ petition. Both the Regulations are quoted below: ... DCI's BDS Course Regulations 1983 (3) Any candidate who fails in one subject in an examination is permitted to go to the next higher class and appear for the subject and complete it successfully before he can appear for the next higher examination. If Semester system is followed, the candidate can carry one subject from one semester to the next semester only, and appear for both semester examinations simultaneously. 2. DCI Revised BDS Course Regulations 2007: SCHEME OF EXAMINATION The scheme of examination for B.D.S. Course shall be divided into 1st BDS examination at the end of the first academic year, 2nd BDS Examination at the end of second year, 3rd BDS Examination at the end of third, 4th BDS Examination at the end of fourth year and final BDS at the end of 5th year. 240 days minimum teaching in each academic year is mandatory. The examination shall be open to a candidate who satisfies the requirements of attendance, progress and other rules laid down by the University. (1) Universities shall organize admission timings and admission process in such a way that teaching starts from 1st day of August in each academic year. Any student, who does not clear the first BDS University Examination in all subjects within 3 years from the date of admission, shall be discharged from the Course. Any candidate who fails in one subject in an examination is permitted to go to the next higher class and appear for the subject and complete it successfully before he is permitted to appear for the next higher examination.... (Relevant extracts enclosed);