ANNA UNIVERSITY Vs. MAHENDRA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Additional Advocate General for the appellant; learned Senior Counsel for the first respondent and learned counsel for the second respondent.

(2.) This appeal questions the legality of the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 26.11.2019, whereby the writ petition filed by the first respondent to declare it as an autonomous College has been allowed and the communication issued by the appellant University has been quashed.

(3.) The University has come up in this appeal contending that the Syndicate of the appellant University in the Minutes of Meeting, as recorded in the 231st meeting, empowers the University to impose conditions and has incorporated guidelines for the purpose of granting an autonomous status to a College affiliated to it, where one of the conditions is that the overall pass percentage of the students in the University examinations shall be not less than 70% of the average over the last three years. It is the case of the appellant University that the results of 2015-16; 2016-17 and 2017-18, which were the three years for consideration did not cross the bar of 70% as imposed by the Syndicate and therefore the College was not entitled to seek an autonomous status.