Mumbai, September 1, 2026: The Bombay High Court has upheld the cancellation of admissions of three students to the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), who had taken admission to the prestigious institute on the basis of forged academic documents, holding that completing almost the entire course or securing placement could not override the need to maintain fairness and integrity in the admission process.
HC Upholds Admission Cancellations
A division bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash dismissed petitions filed by Yash Pramod Gaikwad, Vishal Gupta and Gautam Nair, whose admissions to the two-year Master of Management Studies (MMS) course had been cancelled in March.
The court noted that the students had secured admission under the Children of Indian Workers in Gulf Countries (CIWGC) category. The institute later found serious discrepancies between the academic credentials submitted during admission and their actual university records.
The bench said the students would not have secured admission if their actual academic scores had been considered.
“The consideration that the Petitioners have since completed substantially the entire course, appeared for the final examinations and, in at least one case, secured placement, cannot therefore outweigh the overriding requirement that the admission process must remain fair,” the court said.
It added that an advantage obtained on the basis of “materially false academic credentials” cannot become an enforceable right merely because of the passage of time.
Court Flags Admission Process Lapses
The court also stressed that the inquiry should not end with action against the students alone. It referred to findings of two committees that raised concerns about possible lapses and irregularities in the admission process.
The reports pointed to possible negligence and dereliction of duty by admission officials, deliberate overlooking of discrepancies, possible collusion with external agents or intermediaries, and irregular approvals.
“We are of the view that the purity of an admission process is not protected merely by acting against the person who is alleged to have benefited from an irregularity,” the court observed.
“The institutional mechanism through which the irregularity occurred must also be examined,” it said, adding that appropriate action must follow if responsibility is established.
Accountability Must Extend Further
The High Court said accountability must extend beyond those who allegedly benefited from an irregular admission. Every person connected with the admission process whose role may have facilitated or enabled such irregularity must also be examined.
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The bench said it was important to protect the integrity of the admission process and ensure that responsibility was fixed wherever wrongdoing was ultimately established.
The court said fairness in admissions required equal standards for students and institutional authorities responsible for verification. The petitions were dismissed.
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