VIJAYVIKRAM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Vs. DEPUTY EDUCATIONAL ADVISER MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is "Vijayvikram College of Engineering" which is said to have been established at Bangalore in the year 1986-87 by the Karnataka Technical and Management Education Society (Regd.), Bangalore. It claims to have obtained affiliation from "Maithili University", Dharbanga, Bihar State, to admit and teach the students for graduate course in Engineering. It also claims that it has admitted certain students coming from different parts of the country for its degree course in Engineering and taught them for one academic year. According to it, the Maithili University, from which it has obtained affiliation, is a recognised University, in that, the Directory of Institutions for Higher Education of the year 1979-80 (Anncxure-A) published by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Government of India, has listed the Maithili Vish- wavidyapeetha (Maithili University) as a University in Bihar State. The case set out in the petition is that the letter dated 11-4-1985 (Annexure-D) sent by the Union Public Service Commission to one Sri William P. Martin, Reader and Head of the Department of Economics, St. Philomena College, Puttur, South Kanara, since mentioned that Maithili University, Dharbanga, Bihar, is one of the recognised University and the degrees awarded by it were acceptable, the petitioner-College, which is an Engineering College, has been established and has got itself affiliated to Maithili University. The Petitioner-College has also consequently admitted students to its Engineering Degree Course. But, a letter dated 14-10-1988 (Annexure-B) addressed by the Ministry of Human Resources Development to the Principal of the petitioner-College in response to a letter addressed to it (Ministry of Human Resources Development) informing him thai Maithili Vidyapeetha (Maithili University) is not recognised and the letter dated 11-4-1985 was subsequently withdrawn by the Union Public Service Commission, has given a death-blow to the petitioner-College. Since that letter has been issued by the Centra! Government without applying their mind and without any basis, it is said, this Court's writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution is invoked to quash that letter and give a direction to the Central Government and the Union Public Service Commission to continue to recognise the Maithili University or in the alternative, to direct respondents 1 and 2 themselves to hold the B.E. Examination for the first year students of the petitioner-College through any other recognised University.

(2.) The question which arises for consideration, is whether the reliefs sought by the petitioner-College could be granted by entertaining this petition in exercise of this Court's discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(3.) What is the status of the Maithili University (Maithili Vishwavidyapeetha), which is arrayed as respondent-3 in the petition and from which the petitioner-College is said to have obtained affiliation, calls to be noticed before dealing with the case set out by the petitioner in its petition, having regard to certain undisputed documents produced on behalf of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of Education, New Delhi, and the Union Public Service Commission, arrayed as respondents 1 and 2 in the petition, by the learned Additional Central Government Standing Counsel.