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Mohd. Asad Choudhary v. State of Himachal Pradesh and Others

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1127Decided 14 Oct 2026
Civil Appeal No. 13767 of 2026
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Augustine George Masih · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

The appellant completed a B.Tech degree from Manav Bharti University, Himachal Pradesh, and was appointed Sub-Inspector in the Jammu & Kashmir State Taxes Department, but his appointment could not be confirmed and his salary was withheld because the University, under investigation for an alleged degree-selling scam, did not verify his degree for years. The Himachal Pradesh High Court disposed of his case by directing him to a civil court instead.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found the University's own counter-affidavit admitted the appellant was a genuine student who had cleared all semesters and been issued his degree. The only discrepancies (a missing name on an unrelated disclosure list, and a marks mismatch that didn't affect his passing either way) were the University's own admitted clerical errors, not the appellant's fault. The Court held such institutional lapses cannot penalize the student and that this was a straightforward administrative verification, not something requiring a fresh civil suit. It set aside the High Court's order, directed corrected certificates and verification within three weeks, and ordered all withheld salary released within four further weeks.

Lesson Learnt

An institution's own administrative errors cannot be held against someone who relied on it in good faith, and courts should resolve straightforward records-verification disputes directly rather than sending a citizen back to start a fresh civil suit, especially where livelihood is at stake.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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