STATE OF KERALA Vs. TOMS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This review petition is filed seeking review of an interim order dated 29.06.2020 directing the acceptance of the application and grant of provisional affiliation for two courses in Engineering and to include the 1 st respondent College in the centralised allotment process for the year 2020 for diploma courses, subject to further orders in the writ petition.

(2.) The writ petition had been filed seeking direction to respondents 1 to 4 to conduct inspection and to grant extension of affiliation for the diploma courses, which had sanction of the AICTE and for grant of affiliation for two new courses, which had been granted such sanction by the AICTE. It is stated in the review petition that the interim order was granted on the understanding that the last date for affiliation as fixed by the AICTE in Ext.P11 was on 30.06.2020. It is submitted that on 29.06.2020 itself, the last date for grant of affiliation had been extended from 30.06.2020 to 15.07.2020 and this was approved by the Apex Court as well. It is submitted that the time was, thereafter, extended to 15.08.2020 and now stands extended till 15.09.2020. It is submitted that, in the meanwhile, the review petitioners had invited application for affiliation and had considered the issue of grant of affiliation in respect of the writ petitioners college. It is, therefore, contended that since the issue of grant of affiliation is to be considered by the review petitioners in the light of Annexures A1 to A3 proceedings of the AICTE and Annexure 4 order of the Apex Court by which the time for grant of affiliation now stands extended till 15.09.2020, the interim order dated 29.06.2020 is liable to be reviewed and recalled and the respondents are to be permitted to take a final decision on the request for affiliation.

(3.) The learned counsel appearing for the writ petitioner brought to my notice the fact that, after the interim order was issued, the respondents had invited application for affiliation and a request was submitted by the writ petitioners. It is submitted that thereafter, a communication was issued on 21.08.2020 by the Director of Technical Education by which the affiliation for the additional programmes was rejected on the ground that the institution does not have UG programmes in the requested branches. Reliance was placed on clause 2.9.1 of the AICTE Approval Process Handbook for the year 2020-21. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the said order had been produced by the writ petitioners in the writ petition and a stay of the same had already been granted. It is further submitted that a Division of Bench of this Court has held that where the AICTE has already granted approval, any objection with regard to the approval granted by the AICTE is to be taken by the review petitioners before the AICTE itself and without such a procedure being followed, a collateral challenge to the approval granted by the AICTE is not contemplated.