Harishchandra College Keeps Seat Open During Freedom-Fighter Quota Check

VARANASI: Harishchandra PG College says it has kept a BSc Biology seat reserved for an applicant who complained to the district magistrate that she had not received the benefit of the freedom-fighter dependent quota. Sejal Mishra, granddaughter of late freedom fighter Ramchandra Tiwari of Sahorai village in Chandauli, said she completed the application and entrance test but could not finish admission despite presenting her certificate during counselling.

Mishra, daughter of Prabhu Narayan, told supporters that she visited the college with the required documents on August 18 and 19 and again submitted papers on August 25. Vivekanand Singh, state head of Yuva Parishad, raised the issue on her behalf. The complaint frames the delay as denial of a quota benefit. The college, however, says the place has not been given away and that admission will follow once the certificate is authenticated.

Principal Professor Rajnish Kunwar said seats for freedom-fighter dependants are protected and the relevant documents are verified through the district magistrate's office. In Mishra's case, he said, the seat remains reserved and she will be called after verification. That response narrows the dispute: the immediate question is not whether a quota exists but how long verification should take and whether the applicant received clear written information while waiting.

Admissions are time-sensitive. A student who does not know whether a seat is secure may miss another college's deadline, arrange accommodation unnecessarily or lose weeks of classes. Institutions can reduce that uncertainty by issuing a dated acknowledgement, naming the authority responsible for verification and stating what the student should do if no response arrives by a particular day. Applicants, for their part, should retain copies and submission receipts for every document.

The report does not establish wrongdoing by the college or invalidity in the student's claim. Both positions can be tested through the same paper trail: the application, counselling record, certificate, verification request and reserved-seat list. A prompt written update from the college and district office would be fairer than allowing an administrative pause to become a public confrontation. Until verification is complete, Mishra's admission is pending, while the college's assurance that her seat is protected remains the key safeguard.

The case offers a small lesson for every admission office. Verification protects a reserved category from misuse, but delay can punish the very applicant the category is meant to support. Digitally sending the certificate on the day of counselling and giving the student a status page would make the process both stricter and faster. The district administration can close this dispute simply by completing and communicating the check before teaching moves too far ahead.