Raghul Sudheesh writes open letter to GNLU Director Requests to withdraw appeal against order quashing goodness marks and detention norms

In an unprecedented instance, Associate Editor, Raghul Sudheesh in his individual capacity wrote an open letter to Dr. Bimal N. Patel, Director, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar. The open letter, which was published in the blog, Stripped Law, requested Dr. Patel to withdraw the Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) which has been filed against the order of the single judge quashing ‘goodness’ marks and detention norms..In an unprecedented instance, Associate Editor, Raghul Sudheesh in his individual capacity wrote an open letter to Dr. Bimal N. Patel, Director, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar. The open letter, which was published in the blog, Stripped Law, requested Dr. Patel to withdraw the Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) which has been filed against the order of the single judge quashing ‘goodness’ marks and detention norms. An email was also sent to Dr. Patel in this regard and response is awaited..Sudheesh is hopeful about a positive reply from Dr. Patel, failing which he would be filing an intervention application in the LPA to be included as a party in the matter and make submissions before the Gujarat High Court..The letter is reproduced below:.Dear Bimal Patel Ji, I have always held you and your institution in high esteem. I still vividly remember doing a story in 2011, while I was covering CLAT, which indicated the GNLU as the biggest gainer of CLAT 2011. I have even advised many CLAT aspirants to opt for the GNLU above many other law schools, since I strongly felt that, the GNLU would emerge as one of the best law schools in the country considering the pace of its growth. I admire the steps you have been taking to make the GNLU a truly world class University in the next five years.However, I feel the year 2012 has not been good for GNLU and its growth. A lot of things have brought GNLU in news for the wrong reasons which the administration could have avoided.CLAT aspirant, Donnie Ashok, had to file a writ petition in the Gujarat High Court against the GNLU for refusing him admission to the university on the ground that he did not clear the 10+2 exam in his first attempt. The High Court had directed GNLU and the CLAT convenor to keep one seat vacant at GNLU. However, the matter was later amicably settled and Donnie was granted a seat. GNLU could have avoided this litigation and the cost involved had the GNLU considered the merits of Donnie’s case earlier within the system; which the GNLU did not do.Few months later GNLU was in the news for making 189 of its students to contribute 4 hours of community work, viz. gardening, weeding, watering plants, planting trees for attending a party without ‘authorisation’ from the college authorities. Personally I have felt this to be an invasion on the privacy of the students. The administration has nothing to do with the personal life of students outside the campus. I am sure that the students of the GNLU are capable of choosing between right and wrong.Again the GNLU was in the news for alleged arbitrary admissions. As per the report of Times of India, a senior forest official had alleged that the University was following arbitrary rules and regulations in the admission process thereby doing injustice to students who deserve admission on the basis of merit. It is often alleged that though the Review Commission was appointed to plan and execute the list of criteria to make GNLU, a true world class University in the next five years; what fuelled the immediate formation of the Review Committee was the TOI report regarding arbitrary admissions.Allegedly 400+ students had submitted a Petition to the Review Committee, a copy of which is with me. I was terribly disappointed after reading the Petition. The students raised issues about non appointment of a permanent Registrar, need for a students’ association, mandatory PSU internship, examination rules, back door admissions and a lot of other things. Once, you told me during a telephone conversation on this petition, “See the issue is not about a Bimal or a Raghul but the University”. Considering and respecting that fact, I have not let the report out in the media and have only made a brief reference about the same in a report which I did recently.The petition also raised the issues relating to detention and goodness marks norms which has been quashed by Gujarat High Court.It was sad for me to learn that you were filing an appeal against the order of the learned single Judge. The Court while setting aside the goodness marks norm mentioned that, “by including this ‘Goodness’ marks condition, the University has “given a tool in the hands of the faculty members, which could be used by them at their own whims and caprice. Such discretionary power in the hands of the faculty members would change the atmosphere of the college like for bad where everything would be under the command and control of the faculty members and the students would refrain from a free discussion in the class-room with the fear that if their view-point annoys the concerned faculty then it would weigh against them at the time of awarding the “goodness” marks. Such discretionary power is against the spirit of education”.It is also a disheartening fact that the expenses for pursuing litigation are being met out of University exchequer when the said amount could be used for other fruitful purposes like development of infrastructure or for providing fee concession to under privileged kids who enter the law schools.I am in full agreement with the view of the learned single Judge regarding the detention norms and goodness marks norm that the same should be quashed. These two rules will only be a blot on free academic atmosphere that a law university like GNLU asserts to guarantee. Hence, I humbly request you to honour the decision of the learned single judge of the Gujarat High Court and withdraw the appeal you have filed. I sincerely hope that the matter is amicably settled and GNLU emerges as the best legal institution of the country in the years to come. As you rightly pointed out, the issue is not about a person but about the University!Best Regards,Raghul Sudheesh