Six Semesters Down, Canceled EWS Certificate Halts Architecture Student’s Career

Ahmedabad: An academic and administrative battle has reached the Gujarat High Court, putting the career of a student who completed more than half of his professional degree on the line. Justice Niral R. Mehta was called upon to evaluate a petition challenging the termination of a student’s admission to a Bachelor of Architecture program after he completed six out of ten semesters.

The student’s admission was canceled after his Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificate was found invalid.

Faced with the loss of his seat, the student appealed to the local Collector. The Collector issued a recommendation, suggesting that because the student had already completed six semesters of rigorous study, “no purpose would be served by now canceling” his admission.

During a tense hearing, Justice Mehta expressed severe skepticism regarding the Collector’s legal authority to intervene in professional college admissions. The judge questioned how a Collector could issue a binding recommendation to override standard admission rules once the foundational certificate had been canceled.

Addressing the defense’s reliance on the Collector’s sympathetic order, Justice Mehta observed:

“The Collector’s recommendation is neither here nor there.”

The Court emphasized that because the student’s EWS certificate has been officially canceled, the Collector’s subsequent recommendation holds zero statutory weight in determining college enrollment validity.

The student’s legal team urged the court to evaluate whether the petitioner qualifies under this merit-based window in case of a vacant seat.

The court has adjourned the matter to next Friday.