New Delhi, February 22: The Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in Delhi will not be able award an honorary doctorate to its star alumnus, actor Shah Rukh Khan, as the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry turned down its request to confer the prestigious award to the star. The award was to be given for King Khan’s extraordinary contribution to Indian cinema and culture. The government, while denying the central university’s request, stated that the actor has already received one from a different university, an RTI response stated.

Shah Rukh Khan is a former student of JMI and had given his consent to the proposal of a honorary degree from the varsity. After his consent, a request for the same was sent to HRD Ministry last year by Jamia for approval. Shah Rukh Khan Gets Global Icon Award At India-UK Business Summit In London! Watch Video.

Khan was a master’s student of JMI's mass communication research centre, but he could not appear for his final year exam due to shortage of attendance. In response to a RTI query by Indian Express, it was stated that JMI wrote to HRD for conferring Honoris Causa to Shah Rukh Khan but HRD did not agree as he has already been conferred the degree by Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANNU) in 2016.

However, according to a PTI report, when the HRD officials were contacted for the same, they said there are no fixed rules regarding awarding of such degrees multiple time, but the practice is usually “discouraged”.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2019 12:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).