MALANKARA CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE ARCH DIOCESE OF THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Vs. ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the writ petitions, though slightly different on facts, agitate the issue of rejection of an appeal by the Standing Appellate Committee (for brevity 'SAC') as constituted by the All India Council for Technical Education (for brevity 'AICTE'). The procedure by which the applications are scrutinised and eventually considered by the SAC is the issue raised by both the petitioners, who are respectively a Society and a Trust carrying on educational institutions.

(2.) W .P.(C) No. 14925/2015 raises the question of approval of an MBA course which the petitioner seeks to start in their educational institution under the Cochin University of Science and Technology. The petitioner is, at present running an engineering college and the MBA course was sought to be commenced in the academic year 2015 -16. The petitioner had made an application well within the time prescribed for the same, as per the schedule of the AICTE. The application was scrutinised by the Scrutiny Committee, the initial report of which is found at Ext.P1. Deficiencies were noticed, an enumeration of which is not necessary. The petitioner is said to have rectified the defects and again was before the Scrutiny Committee. The report of the Re -Scrutiny Committee is produced at Ext.P3, wherein also certain deficiencies were noticed. The petitioner having been issued with the 'Letter of Rejection' (LOR), as per Ext.P4 by the AICTE, was before the SAC; the notice for appearance before whom is also enclosed along with Ext.P4, with date of hearing indicated as 13.4.2015. The SAC constituted an Expert Visiting Committee (for brevity 'EVC') who visited the premises for inspection on 19.4.2015. Ext.P6 is the report of the EVC, which noticed the following defects:

(3.) I have heard the learned Senior Counsel Sri. Jaiju Babu instructed by Sri. V.Varghese in W.P.(C) No. 14925/2015 and the learned counsel Sri. C.A. Majeed in the W.P.(C) No. 16885/2015, for the petitioners and the learned Standing Counsel Sri. S. Krishnamoorthy, for the AICTE.