ORISSA MANAGEMENT COLLEGES ASSOCIATION REPRESENTED THROUGH ITS SECRETARY, DR. BISWAJIT MOHANTY Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner has preferred the present Writ Petition praying for a declaration that the Petitioner -association is entitled to hold Common Entrance Test for admission of students in the member institutions by holding centralized Counselling inter alia for the reason that the State which has virtually nationalized admission of students in private unaided professional institutions Under Section 3 read with Section 11 of the Orissa Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission & Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007 (for short 'the Act'), has not been able to select & supply students for admission in the member institutions of the Petitioner on the basis of the JEE held by it in any of the year since 2007.

(2.) ON 2.3.2007, the State of Orissa promulgated Orissa Ordinance No. 1 of 2007, namely, the Orissa Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission & Fixation Fee) Ordinance, 2007. The Ordinance was challenged by various Associations including the Petitioner -Association in this Court, inter alia, on the ground of lack of legislative competence. During pendency of the Writ Petitions, the State passed the Orissa Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission & Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007 replacing the Ordinance while retaining all the provisions of the said Ordinance in the Act.

(3.) THE State of Orissa filed three Special Leave Petitions in the Hon'ble Supreme Court in which on 1.6.2007, the Court granted special leave to appeal & passed an interim order of stay of the Judgment. But while staying the operation of Sections 4(1), 4(2), 4(4), 6(1), 6(2) & 6(3) of the Act, constituted the Policy Planning Body & the Fee Structure Committee for the academic year 2007 -2008 & made it expressly "clear that except the provisions relating to the constitution of the said Body/Committee which are stayed as aforesaid, other provisions of the Act shall continue to be in force". As a result, the Act has become enforceable.