VILE PARLE KELAVANI MANDAL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard parties.

(2.) Petitioner No.1, a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1960, and also a public charitable trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, is running the managements of SVKM's Dwarkadas J.Sahghvi College of Engineering and SVKM's Dr.Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy at Mumbai, petitioner Nos. 2 and 3. Both these educational institutions are affiliated to the University of Mumbai, respondent No.4. These educational institutions are being run after obtaining approval from Respondent No.3 Director of Technical Education. Both these institutions claim that they are Gujarati Linguistic Minority unaided educational institutions and in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the cases of (i) T. M. A. Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka, 2002 (8) SCC 481, (ii) Islamic Academic Education vs. State of Karnataka, 2003 (6) SCC 697, and (iii) P.A. Inamdar vs. State of Maharashtra, 2005 (6) SCC 537, they have a right to admit students of their choice by adopting a fair admission process. Vide their letter dated 12th June, 2006, petitioner No.2 had informed the official respondents that their institute will not be joining the Common Admission Process (CAP) for the First Year Engineering (FE) admission for the academic year 2006-2007. They published an advertisement inviting applications from eligible candidates for admission to First Year Engineering courses. This was also informed by the first petitioner to the third respondent vide letter dated 29th June, 2006. On 3rd July, 2006, the third petitioner college informed respondent No.3 that they will be filling 100 per cent of the seats and that the students will be selected who have undertaken MH-CET 2006- 07 and would be releasing advertisements inviting applications for admission to the first Year B. Pharma Degree Course. Similar intimation was also sent vide letter dated 6th July, 2006, by the second petitioner about filling up of the first year seats in the Engineering course. On 4th July, 2006, an advertisement was published by the third petitioner inviting applications for admission to the first year Bachelor in Pharmacy and that the College is Gujarati linguistic minority institute claimed to have authority to fill all 100 per cent seats in the manner indicated in their advertisement. Vide letters dated 20th November, 2006 and 21st November,2006, the third and second petitioners sent the list of the candidates admitted to the first year B. Pharma and the first year Engineering courses respectively to the respondents.

(3.) The second respondent in its meeting dated 24th September, 2006 had decided to verify and check the list of admitted students in the Academic Year 2006-2007 for the higher and technical education courses in all private and unaided institutions. It is only after the approval of second respondent that the admission would be treated as proper admissions. Vide their letter dated 6th February, 2007, the third petitioner again had informed the respondents that they would be admitting students in terms of the judgments of the Supreme Court and they would not join the Central Admission Process ("CAP" for short) for the first year B. Pharma Courses for the Academic year 2007-2008 and all 100 per cent seats will be filled as permitted to fill by unaided minority institutions.