STATE OF GOA Vs. UNION OR INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition by the State of Goa, its Directorate of technical Education and Goa College of Architecture. The College of architecture is an institution, established and administered by the government of Goa. By this petition, the petitioners have challenged the order dated 14. 6. 2007 issued by respondent No. 2-Council of Architecture, a statutory body, constituted under the Indian Architects Act, 1972. By the impugned order, the Council has directed that the admissions to the institution shall be withheld from the Academic Session 2007-2008 as the intake of the students is freezen.

(2.) THIS impugned order was preceded by communication dated 12. 6. 07 to the effect that the Executive Committee of the Council of architecture at its 90th Meeting held on Wednesday, 6th June, 2007 has decided to make the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA)compulsory in all the architectural institutions in the Country from the academic Session 2007-2008 and further that for the Academic Session 2007-2008 the intake of the students shall be subject to the condition that the institution must submit an undertaking that the students shall be admitted through NATA and that if such an undertaking is not given, the intake of students shall be frozen. It is, however, the contention of the Central government that the NATA is not compulsory, particularly since the Common entrance Examination has been prescribed and is held for the purpose of admissions. Be that as it may, the petitioner No. 3 College has stated that it is admitting students on the basis of the NATA.

(3.) THE main contention on behalf of the petitioners is that the impugned order freezing the intake of the students i. e. admission of students in the petitioner No. 3 College is void since there is no authority in the council of Architecture to direct that the students shall not be admitted in a college or institution. The main justification by the respondents is that they have such a power or authority, possessed by them as a power incidental to the power to prescribe minimum standards of education for the purpose of recognition. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the scheme of the Indian architecture Act, 1972 ("the Act" for short) under which the Council of architecture is constituted. The Council of Architecture is constituted under section 3 of the Act.