Jaipur, Jun 24 (PTI) : An 81-year-old retired IAS officer got his due after a nearly five-decade battle with Rajasthan University awarding him the gold medal for securing first position in LLB examination which he passed in 1969.

Ajit Singh Singhvi was yesterday awarded the gold medal and a certificate by Rajasthan University Vice Chancellor J P Singhal at a simple ceremony at the varsity, according to a university release.

Singhvi had secured the highest marks in aggregate but was given the second position. The varsity had counted merit only on the basis of marks secured in the final year, whereas in aggregate Singhvi had received the highest marks.

The Rajasthan Administrative Services officer who was promoted to IAS in 1979, had approached a court saying that he deserved the first position and the result be re-evaluated and revised accordingly.

Singhvi's plea was accepted by the court and he finally won the case in the Rajasthan High Court. The battle lasted 47 years.

He had challenged the university result in a civil court in Bikaner which gave a verdict in his favour in 1975.

But the student who was awarded the gold medal, Sawai Singh appealed in the court of Additional District Judge (ADJ), Bikaner against the order.

The ADJ upheld the decision of the trial court in 1990 but Sawai Singh filed an appeal in the high court.

The high court also upheld the decision in 2003. However, it took several more years to complete the legal procedure after the HC verdict as Singhvi had not received the decree from the civil court, Ashok Maru, the Rajasthan University counsel said.

"After the decision of the civil court, the university had accepted after he deserves the gold medal but the student who was earlier awarded the medal challenged the court's decision in the ADJ's court and the issue was stuck in a legal battle. So it took 47 years for Singhvi to get the medal after winning the case in the high court," varsity spokesman Bhupendra Singh Shekhawat said.