O.P.Garg, J. - (1.) Discipline is the first casuality in the academic field. It is a universal phenomenon and a perennial complex problem plaguing the educational institutions. In the recent past, incidents of grave indiscipline among students have come to be multiplied.
(2.) The point for determination in the present writ petition is whether at the alter of the procedural law of natural justice and undue insistence on this concept, the orders of suspension and expulsion of the petitioner passed by the Principal of the College should be interferred with on the face of the emphatic assertion that continuance of the petitioner in the institution was not congenial to the orderly atmosphere in the college campus. This controversy has come to be raised in the backdrop of following facts. The petitioner-Anup Pratap Singh was a regular student of B.A. Part III during the session 1996-97 in Udai Pratap Singh Maha Vidhayalaya (Autonomous), Varanasi. An unfortuanate incident had taken place on 3.11.1996. Some of the students of the college extracted money in an illegal manner from the vehicle owners who were passing through Shivpur Bye-pass, Varanasi. Local Police arrested two students and registered a case against them. At about 5 P.M. on the same day, i.e. 3.11.1996, the petitioner Anup Pratap Singh along with a body of students went to the house of the Principal Sri Bans Bahadur Singh and asked him to go to the Police Station to get the two students, who have been arrested, bailed out. The Principal of the college refused to oblige the petitioner and other students as according to him, the incident had taken place out-side the college campus and the students were involved In criminal activity. After sometime, a bus-load of the students along with the petitioner emerged, at the house of the Principal again and damaged the house hold effects, kept in the house of the principal, as also the motor car and other college property. A threat to the life of the Principal was also held out. The Principal had pointedly noticed the presence of Anup Pratap Singh petitioner, amongst the body of the students who had collected at his residence. An FIR, Annexure 3 to the writ petition, was lodged by the Principal of the College on 4.11.1996 with regard to the incident which had taken place on 3.11.1996 at 7.30 P.M. against the petitioners and others. A case under Section 452/427 and 508 I.P.C, (Crime Case No. 204 of 1996) was registered at Police Station Shivpur. Varanasi against the petitioner and others. On the same day, the petitioner was suspended from attending the classes and institution vide order which is Annexure 4 to the writ petition. A notice was also served on the petitioner, a copy of which is Annexure 5, on 4.11.1996 to show cause as to why he should not be expelled from the college on account of serious allegations of indiscipline against him. Another incident had taken place on 31.3.1997 in which one Navneet Kumar Singh, a student of B.Sc. IInd year was assaulted and beaten up by a body of students including the petitioner who where armed with sticks, hockeys and country made pistols. The presence of the petitioner was noticed and confirmed by Dr. Shyam Sudhar Singh and Maj. Ram Ashrey Singh, Senior Teachers of the College. In the background of the aforesaid two incidents, the petitioner was finally expelled on 5.4.1997 (Annexure 7 to the writ petition) by the Principal of the College.
(3.) By means of this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the order of suspension dated 4.11.1996 (Annexure 4) and the order of expulsion dated 5.4.1997 (Annexure 7) primarily on the ground that the incidents in question are concocted ones and that unduly harsh punishment has been Inflicted upon him which has resulted in ruining his career in flagrant violation of the principles of natural justice. It was also stated that the petitioner had attended the classes, deposited examination fee and filled in the form to appear in the B.A. Part III examination and, therefore, the respondents are now estopped from denying the benefit to appear in B.A. Part III examination. It was prayed that the respondent be directed not to prevent the petitioner from appearing in the B.A. Final Examination.;