On Thursday, October 5, the Uttarakhand High Court issued a notice to the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna (HNB) Garhwal University on a plea seeking the continuation of the old admission process in its colleges for the current session. A division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal directed the university to file its reply within four weeks.

The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by students claimed that the central university conducted admissions to its undergraduate programmes last year on the basis of students' performance in the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), due to which, only 20 per cent of its seats could be filled. Earlier, the varsity admitted students on the basis of their Class XII Board exam results, as per a report by PTI.

Referring to a letter by the Union Education Ministry to the University Grants Commission (UGC) dated March 15, 2023, the PIL mentioned that the central universities of northern states, including HNB Garhwal University, should be given exemption from CUET for admission in the 2023-24 academic year.

The court said if the university does not respond to the notice within the fixed timeline, the vice-chancellor will have to make a personal appearance in the court, as per PTI.