VINAYAK COLLEGE Vs. NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The proceedings in the matter have been conducted through video conferencing. 1. The petitioner assails an order dated 27.04.2017, by which the Northern Regional Committee ("NRC") of the National Council for Teacher Education ("NCTE") rejected an application for recognition of its B.A.B.Ed./B.Sc.B.Ed. courses. The petitioner also challenges an order dated 26.09.2019, by which the Appellate Committee of the NCTE dismissed the petitioner's application on the ground of delay.

(2.) The petitioner filed the application for recognition on 29.05.2016. A show cause notice was issued by the NRC on 19.03.2017, to which it replied on 18.04.2017. The NRC rejected the petitioner's application by an order dated 27.04.2017. The contention of the petitioner is that this order was never received by the petitioner.

(3.) In the meantime, on 06.05.2017, the Secretary of the petitioner's parent body, which is a registered society (hereinafter, "the Society"), met with a road accident, which necessitated his hospitalisation for approximately 15 months. He was discharged from hospital only on 23.07.2018. The petitioner claims that the Secretary of the Society was the only person looking after the application for recognition, and no one else in the Society knew about the user ID or password in order to access the online portal of the NCTE.