BHARATI VIDYAPEETH DEEMED UNIVERSITY Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Bharati Vidyapeeth, located in Pune, was established as a society. Several Colleges affiliated to Pune University were run by the said society. It applied to the U. G. C. for treating the society as a deemed university and the State government strongly recommended the case of appellants to the U. O. I, for grant of the status of Deemed University. The Central government on advice of U. G. C. declared various institutions of Bharati Vidyapeeth at Pune as "deemed to be University" for the purpose of the U. G. C. Act vide Notification dated 26.4.1996. On 13.6.1996 U. G. C. issued office memorandum declaring Bharati Vidyapeeth as a Deemed University in terms of Section 3 of the U. G. C. Act.

(2.) When the matter stood thus, it appears that the Bharati Vidyapeeth as deemed University allowed admissions to be made in their respective medical, engineering and dental colleges up to the academic year 1995-1996 under the stream of the Common Entrance Test conducted by the State authority. Thereafter, they decided to keep themselves outside the scope of the State authority. At that stage, appellants herein filed a writ petition before the High Court challenging the Admission rules to Medical, Engineering and Dental colleges for the year 1996-97 whereby the colleges run by Bharati Vidyapeeth were included in the admission proposed to be controlled by the CET authority. The High Court after considering various arguments of the learned counsel appearing on either side dismissed the writ petition. Hence, this appeal by special leave.

(3.) This Court granted an interim order on 19.5.1997 to the following effect which is continuing till today: