Dismissed¶15

Mandira Pal v. Union of India and Ors.

Calcutta HC20 May 2025FMA/635/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

National School of Drama; medium of instruction; Hindi; Bengali; regional languages; language barrier; selection guidelines; disqualification; non-participation in selection process; Admission Notice 2021; Three Year Diploma Course in Dramatics 2021-2024; jurisdiction clause; High Court Delhi; territorial jurisdiction; writ petition; mandamus; FMA appeal; dismissal of appeal; mootness; lapse of academic session; Pankaj Panwar vs. Lalit Kala Akademi; Pramila Mistry vs. Union of India; Soumen Sen; Smita Das De.

What did the court decide?

The Court declined to interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Judge and dismissed the appeal and the connected application. ¶15

Mandira Pal Vs Union of India and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

¶15

Issue for consideration

Whether the Division Bench should interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Judge in the writ petition. +2 more

¶15

Court's answer

The Court declined to interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Judge and dismissed the appeal and the connected application.

¶15

Ratio / Principle

The writ petitioner admittedly did not participate in the selection process of the National School of Drama and took objection to the selection guidelines only on the basis of the language barrier contained in them.

¶13

Key takeaways

Territorial jurisdiction was not conclusively decided; the Court proceeded only on the assumption that the cause of action arose within its jurisdiction.obiter¶13
As on the date of the appeal no relief could have been provided to the writ petitioner, since the diploma course was for 2021-24, even if the Court were held to have jurisdiction.ratio¶13

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Appeal (FMA 635 of 2022) against the order dated 17th December, 2021 of a learned Single Judge in a writ petition seeking mandamus to the National School of Drama, New Delhi, to impart all instructions in English and in all regional languages (including Bengali) as opposed to only Hindi. The appellant, lacking working knowledge of Hindi, alleged disqualification from the selection process for the Three Year Diploma Course in Dramatics 2021-2024 but admittedly did not participate in it; the Admission Notice 2021 vested jurisdiction over legal disputes in the High Court Delhi. The Division Bench noted the learned Single Judge's reliance on Pankaj Panwar vs. Lalit Kala Akademi (AIR 2015 Cal 67) and on the unreported Division Bench decision in Pramila Mistry vs. The Union of India & Ors. (MAT 1569 of 2019) on territorial jurisdiction, but did not decide the jurisdictional question, proceeding only on the assumption that the cause of action arose within its jurisdiction. Finding that the petitioner had not participated in the selection process and had objected to the selection guidelines solely on the language barrier, and that the 2021-24 diploma course had run its course so that no relief was possible, the Bench declined to interfere and dismissed the appeal and the application.

Item20-05-2025 25.

Ct. 8

FMA 635 of 2022 CAN 1 of 2022

¶5

Mandira Pal Vs. The Union of India & Ors.

¶6

Mr. Nandlal Singhania

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…for the respondent nos.1 & 2

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The appeal is arising out of an order dated 17^th December, 2021 passed by the learned Single Judge in a writ petition.

¶9

The appellant is not represented. The respondent nos. 1 and 2 are represented. However, we have perused the impugned order forming subject matter of this appeal. The writ petition was filed seeking mandamus on the National School of Drama, New Delhi, to impart all instructions in English and in all regional languages as opposed to only Hindi.

¶10

The writ petitioner has submitted before the learned Single Judge that the petitioner does not have a working knowledge of Hindi and was disqualified by the National School of Drama from the selection process. Since Hindi is a regional language, the National School of Drama should also include Bengali as a medium of instruction. The National School of Drama pointed to a jurisdiction clause and opposed to any prayer granted in favour of the petitioner.

¶11

¶12

The writ petitioner admittedly, did not participate in the selection process. Moreover, it appears that the Admission Notice 2021 for the Three Year Diploma Course in Dramatics 2021-2024 provides that in case of any legal dispute, the High Court Delhi would have the jurisdiction to entertain the dispute. It appears that the decision of a learned Single Judge in Pankaj Panwar vs. Lalit Kala Akademi reported in AIR 2015 Cal 67 corresponding to (2014) 3 Calcutta Law Times demonstrates that a writ court can assume jurisdiction where the effect of the impugned act is suffered by the writ petitioner. The learned Single Judge also seems to have relied upon an decision in MAT 1569 of 2019 (Pramila Mistry vs. The Union of India & Ors.) of an unreported decision passed by a Division Bench, where the National School of Drama was a party before this Court in support of the submission that the Court has territorial jurisdiction.

¶13

Even if we assume that the cause of action is arising within the jurisdiction, it appears that he has not participated in the selection process of the National School of Drama and has taken objection to selection guidelines only on the basis the language barrier contained in the selection guideline. Moreover, the diploma course was for 2021-24 and as on date, no relief could have been provided in favour of the writ petitioner, even if we hold that the Court may have jurisdiction.

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¶15

On such consideration, we are not inclined to interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Judge. The appeal and the application are dismissed.

¶16

(Soumen Sen, J.)

¶17

(Smita Das De, J.)

Mandira Pal v. Union of India and Ors.

Case brief

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Mandira Pal v. Union of India and Ors.

Case brief

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