BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY Vs. DHANALAKSHMI SRINIVASAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HIGHER Education Department of State of Tamil Nadu, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, aggrieved by the common order of the learned Single Judge dated 25-11-2004, made in W. P. No. 27030/2004 etc. , batch, directing the Universities to consider the applications submitted by the petitioner-Institution for grant of affiliation for conducting teacher training course for the academic year 2004-2005 without insisting on the production of the No Objection Certificate from the State Government, have filed the above Writ Appeals. Since the issues raised in all the Writ Appeals are one and the same, they are being disposed of by the following order.

(2.) FOR convenience, we shall refer the facts leading to the filing of Writ Appeal No. 4204/2004, filed by Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli. Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Educational and Charitable Trust, Perambalur, aggrieved by the proceedings of the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli dated 23-9-2004 declining to consider and grant affiliation to their college to establish a B. Ed. , training course, has filed W. P. No. 27757/2004 for quashing the same and for consequential direction to the University to consider their application for affiliation for B. Ed. , course for their college in the name and style of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Education, Perambalur for the academic year 2004-2005. According to them, their Trust desired to establish a Teacher Training College at Perambalur. The course in Teacher Education falls within the purview of the National Council for Teacher Education constituted under the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (Act 73/1993) (NCTE Act in short ). As per the NCTE Act and the National Council for Teacher Education Regulations, 2002, if a Management or Institution desired to establish a Teacher Training College or a Teacher Training Institute, it has to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the State Government and make an application to the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) along with the said NOC. Accordingly, the petitioner submitted an application to the State Government for grant of NOC to establish a Teacher Training College. The State Government passed orders on 01-01-2004 rejecting their claim. Since the State Government rejected their application, the petitioner filed W. P. No. 19419/2004 before this Court for issuance of a Mandamus, directing the NCTE to consider their application for grant of recognition/approval to start a Teacher Training College. On consideration of that matter, this Court on 12-7-2004 directed the NCTE to follow the judgment of the Supreme Court in 2003 3 SCC 321 and consider their applications for recognition. Thereafter, the NCTE conducted an inspection and after verifying the infrastructural facilities of the petitioner's college, issued orders on 07-09-2004, granting recognition to their college of education known as Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Education for a period of one year from the academic year 2004-2005 with an annual intake of 100 students. They have got all the infrastructural facilities to start the Teacher Training College in their campus and had also obtained approval/recognition from the NCTE and what remained was only to get the necessary affiliation; accordingly, they submitted an application for the grant of affiliation to the Bharathidasan University on 9-9-2004 along with a covering letter stating that they had complied with 100% of the requirement including permanent building, library, laboratory facilities, staff etc. , as per the NCTE norms and requested affiliation by enclosing a Demand Draft towards the application fee. However, they received a reply from the University on 23-9-2004, informing that the institution should approach the University for affiliation after obtaining orders from the State Government permitting them to establish a self-financing B. Ed. , college in accordance with the provisions of the University Act and the Tamil Nadu Private Colleges (Regulation) Act. The said order declining to consider and grant affiliation to their college is illegal, contrary to law laid down by the Supreme Court. In these circumstances, having no other remedy, the petitioner filed the said writ petition before this Court, and the same was taken up for hearing along with other writ petitions filed by other similarly placed educational institutions. By a common order dated 25-11-2004, the learned Single Judge, after holding that the insistence of NOC from the State Government by the universities for establishing teacher training college is totally unsustainable, allowed all the writ petitions filed by the Educational Institutions and directed the Universities to consider each of the applications submitted by the Institutions for grant of affiliation without reference to the prior permission from the State Government. Questioning the same, the Universities and the State Government have preferred the above Writ Appeals.

(3.) HEARD Mr. R. Muthukumarasamy, learned Additional Advocate General, for the State and for University of Madras and Periyar University, Salem; Mr. P. Subbaya, learned counsel for Bharathidasan University; Mr. P. Jothimani, learned counsel for Madurai University; Mr. R. Krishnamoorthy, learned senior counsel for Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Educational and Charitable Trust; Mr. K. Chandru, learned senior counsel for Kasthuriba Gandhi College of Education and Parasakthi College of Education; Mr. N. Paul Vasanthakumar, for M. A. S. Subbiah Chettiar Educational and Charitable Trust and for Madras Education and Research Integrated Trust; Mr. S. Udayakumar, learned Senior Central Government standing counsel for NCTE.