Ahmedabad: In a remarkable turn of events, the city civil court in Ahmedabad has granted relief to Shashi Kumar Mohata, a 1979 commerce graduate, 24 years after he was denied admission to a law college in 2000. The court ruled in favor of Mohata, directing Gujarat University and its affiliate Daulatbhai Trivedi Law College to admit him to the 3-year LLB program starting the academic year 2025-26.
Mohata, a stock market professional, had been denied admission to the LLB course at Daulatbhai Trivedi Law College on the grounds that his academic journey of 14 years (11 years of schooling and 3 years of graduation) fell short of the 15-year requirement mandated by Gujarat University.
In 2001, Mohata filed a lawsuit challenging the university’s decision, arguing that it discriminated against students from different educational systems and violated his constitutional rights. After years of litigation and a brief dismissal of his case in 2017 due to non-appearance, the case was restored in 2022 on Mohata’s plea.
Judge Bhavesh K Avashia, delivering the verdict on November 16, ruled that the key eligibility criteria for a 3-year LLB course is possession of a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university, regardless of the number of academic years completed.
“The key criteria to consider eligibility to get admission is ‘Bachelor’s Degree’ irrespective of the numbers of the years spent as a student life. Herein, the plaintiff (Mohata) is possessing ‘Bachelor of Commerce Degree’ from the recognized university – ‘Calcutta University.’ Therefore, the defendants (Gujarat University and Daulatbhai Trivedi Law College) have no right to deny admission merely on the ground that the plaintiff had studied only for 14 years (11+3) and not for 15 years (12+3),” the court observed.
The court further noted that the defendants had raised no other objections to Mohata’s eligibility, stating, “It would have to be assumed that there is no other hurdle to prevent the plaintiff from pursuing the LLB course.”
The court directed Gujarat University to enroll Mohata in the 3-year LLB program from the academic year 2025-26, contingent upon his submission of marksheets and degree certificates within a month for verification. Additionally, the court ordered the university and its affiliated college to bear Mohata’s litigation costs.
Mohata expressed relief at the decision, marking the end of a two-decade-long legal battle to assert his eligibility for higher education.
