TOM T.JOSEPH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The captioned writ petitions are materially connected in respect of the issues raised by the petitioners with regard to inclusion of the institutions headed by the petitioners in the Centralized Allotment Process (CAP) to Polytechnic admissions for the ensuing year ie., 2019 - 2020. Therefore, I heard the writ petitions together and propose to deliver this common judgment.

(2.) There is some difference so far as W.P.(C) No.15225/2019 is concerned, the facts of which will be dealt separately in due course. There are certain admitted facts since the learned Government Pleader submitted that all the institutions have secured approval from the All India Council of Technical Education and they are having infrastructure so as to conduct the Polytechnic courses. The facts wherever required and documents contained in W.P.(C) No.15231/2019 will be relied upon for the purpose of disposal of these writ petitions.

(3.) In the said writ petition, Ext.P6 circular dated 25.05.2019 is produced, whereby, six institutions are informed to remit the required affiliation fees of Rs.7,00,000/- for a minimum of three diploma programmes and Rs.2,00,000/- for each additional programmes by DD in favour of the Member Secretary, State Board of Technical Education, payable at Thiruvananthapuram on or before 29.05.2019 for grant of provisional affiliation of the institutions mentioned therein. According to the petitioners, except in W.P.(C).No. 15225/19 fees were remitted on 29.05.2019 or prior to the said date. However, when the Prospectus namely Ext.P8 was issued and when the colleges entitled for Centralized Admission Process were included in the annexure, petitioners in the writ petitions are excluded. Therefore according to the petitioners, since the provisional affiliation fees are directed to be paid and when they were excluded, the attempt of the Government is to exclude the petitioners from the Centralized Admission Process, which is quite illegal and arbitrary liable to be interfered with by this Court, exercising the power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.