N.LAKSHMANAN Vs. GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the core of this petition, by which an order dtd. 10/6/2021 of the second respondent is assailed, and indeed of the dispute between the contesting parties, is the interpretation of Ss. 26 and 27 of the Tamil Nadu Private Colleges (Regulation) Act, 1976 (Act 19 of 1976) and the rules framed in respect thereof under the Tamil Nadu Private Colleges (Regulation) Rules, 1976 (the Rules).

(2.) The petitioner is the son of the late Narayanan Chettiar, who created the sixth respondent Trust, namely, the Narayanan Chettiar Trust through a registered Trust Deed dtd. 29/3/1957, bearing Document No. 144/1957 on the file of the Joint I, SRO, Madurai (South). The said Trust, the sixth respondent herein, is a public trust. The seventh respondent, the Saraswathi Narayanan College (the College), was established by the sixth respondent Trust in the year 1966. It is a Government aided College which is governed by Act 19 of 1976. Upon the entry into force of the said enactment, the admitted position is that the sixth respondent is the Educational Agency in respect of the College for the purposes of Act 19 of 1976.

(3.) By a Deed of Endowment dtd. 27/6/1967 (the First Endowment Deed), 16.92 acres, in the aggregate, in multiple survey numbers of Thuvariman Village were endowed and vested in the College by the sixth respondent Trust. Such endowment was for the upkeep and maintenance of the College. The endowment was subject to the condition that the properties and the income derived therefrom shall be utilized only for the purpose of the endowment by the College. The First Endowment Deed enabled the College to exchange the properties with other properties of equal value without detriment to the income accruing therefrom. A few years later, a Deed of Declaration of Trust was executed on 5/12/1972 (the Second Endowment Deed). In terms thereof, about 1.88 acres of wet lands were endowed for the benefit and use of the College by the sixth respondent Trust. The terms and conditions of the Second Endowment Deed largely mirrored the terms of the First Endowment Deed. However, in the Second Endowment Deed, the previous permission of the Madurai University was made mandatory even for exchange of properties by the College with properties of equal value. Another Deed of Declaration of Trust was executed on 27/5/1983 (the Third Endowment Deed) by the Narayanan Chettiar Trust. By this Deed, about 2.72 acres of wet lands at Thuvariman Village were endowed for the benefit and use of the College. The terms and conditions were identical to that in the Second Endowment Deed.