Officials of the Protestant Church of North India have welcomed a New Delhi High Court decision that accepted their right to oversee the admission of Christian students in a college started by protestant missionaries.

The court refused to stay the interview process for admission of students in the 138-year-old St Stephan’s College, a premier Christian institution in the national capital.

The court was hearing a petition filed by three teachers who challenged the inclusion of a member of the colleges’ top management in the interview panel for admission of Christian students.

They wanted the court to stop selection interviews being conducted in this way. “I do not consider it appropriate to stay the interview process,” Justice Anu Malhotra said on June 12. Bishop Masih said in the statement. “It can have its representatives wherever it wants. The teachers should not complain unless it is affecting the quality of education in the institution.