SECRETARY PUNITHA VALLANAR MEENAVAR KALVI ARAKKATTALAI Vs. ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petition is filed for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the third respondent to issue Diploma Certificate to all the 273 students admitted in the Diploma Course for the academic year 2014-15 in the petitioner's institution except the 30 students who were already provided with the same.

(2.) The petitioner is a Trust formed in the year 1984 and its main objective is to provide quality higher education to the students from the rural areas of Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli Districts particularly to fishermen who are educationally backward and financially poor. The petitioner states that it is a Minority Institution. It is not in dispute that the petitioner started the polytechnic in the year 1985 at Seydunganallur, a rural area for imparting technical education to boys and girls. It is stated that most of the students in the petitioner's college are from socially and economically weaker sections of the society. It is further stated that the institution is providing admission to 100 students every year from the poor fishermen community. It is also stated that free hostel facility , including mess charges, are borne by the management for the poor students.

(3.) It is admitted that by an order dated 20.02.2014 due to noncompliance of certain deficiencies pointed out by the first respondent the application for extension of approval for the academic year 2014-2015 was rejected. Challenging the said order, the petitioner filed a writ petition in W.P(MD) No. 8064 of 2014, wherein this Court has granted interim stay of the order passed by the first respondent dated 25.03.2014. It is stated that on the basis of the interim order passed in the said writ petition, the petitioner has admitted 273 students for the academic year 2014-2015. It is also admitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that on the basis of the order obtained from Court, 273 students were permitted to write the sixth semester examinations and the result of the examinations was published by the third respondent during May 2017. Therefore the third respondent sent a communication dated 18.05.2017 stating that the results may be withheld for the students. Thereafter by way of the interim order, the petitioner got the results published. Since the results were published pursuant to the orders of this Court dated 07.06.2017, it is also admitted that the provisional certificate and the consolidated mark sheet of the eligible candidates were furnished to the students. Since the validity of the provisional certificates is for a limited period of six months, the petitioner states that on the basis of the marks, the students are likely to join Engineering College by lateral entry. It is further stated that some of the students have also got placement in some reputed companies. Since the engineering college and the organisation who have employed students require original diploma certificates and the mark sheets for the sixth semester examinations, the petitioner has come forward with the present writ petition.