FRIENDS CULTURAL EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these petitions filed by the educational institution and the students studying in the institution the following reliefs have been sought:

(2.) THE facts leading to this petition, briefly stated, are as follows. The petitioner-institution is incorporated under the Karnataka Societies registration Act and is a linguistic minority institution. The institution in order to meet the requirement of Tamil Teachers sought to establish a tamil Teachers Training School in Karnataka. With that object in view, the petitioner moved the first respondent-State for requisite no objection certificate ('noc' for short), under the National Council for Teacher education Act, 1993 ('the Act' for short ). The State Government by its order dated 31-1-2000 rejected the prayer for NOC. In the meanwhile in dr. Sri Jachani Rashtreeya Seva Peetha, Bangalore v State of Karnataka and Others, the policy decision taken by the State Government not to permit opening of teacher education institutions was struck down as non est by a learned Single Judge of this Court. It was held that the legislative field pertaining to teacher education was covered by the Central legislation and State Government ceased to have any power under Article 162 of the Constitution to take any policy decision with regard to that subject. This order was taken up in appeal in National Council for teacher Education, Southern Regional Committee, Bangalore and Another v Dr. Sri Jachani Rastriya Seva Peetha, Bangalore and Another, and the Division Bench of this Court set aside the order of the learned single Judge and directed the Regional Committee of the NCTE to consider and dispose off the applications that were pending with it for recognition. Following the directions of this Court the petitioner-institution presented its application for recognition. The Southern Regional committee of the NCTE by its order dated 16-8-2001 (Annexure-F) rejected the prayer of the petitioner-institution for recognition under Section 14 of the Act concurring with the reasons assigned by the State government for refusing NOC. The petitioner preferred appeal under section 18 of the Act before the second respondent-NCTE and the appeal also came to be dismissed by the NCTE by its order dated 1-11-2001. Aggrieved by the order of rejection for recognition the petitioner-institution along with the students have preferred these writ petitions.

(3.) I have heard the learned Counsels on both sides.