An engineering graduate who topped his course in 1992 is likely to get his gold medal now, with the Punjab and Haryana high court directing Panjab University here to honour him.
Rubinderjit Singh Brar, a civil engineering graduate from Chandigarh's leading Punjab Engineering College (PEC), had topped the bachelor of engineering (civil) examination held by the university in 1992. He had scored 6,497 marks out of 8,000 and the PEC authorities declared him the topper of the course.
However, university authorities refused to give him the gold medal saying, under varsity rules it could only be given to a student who had cleared all examinations of the course in the first attempt.
In Brar's case, he was forced to drop one theory examination of the fourth semester in May 1990 due to serious illness. He cleared the examination in the first available opportunity in January 1991.
"I represented to the university to give me the gold medal, as all toppers get it, but they declined. They said this could only be given to students who clear all their exams in the first attempt. Following the refusal by the university, I filed a case with the high court in 1993 itself," Brar told the media.