MAHANTA RAMAKRUSHNA DASH Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) W.P. (C)No. 15603 of 2010 has been filed by one Mahanta Ramakrushna Dash and another with a prayer to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus to the oppo-site parties, particularly the opp. party No. 2 i.e. the Regional Director, Orissa, Bhubaneswar, to reconstitute the Governing Body of Japakud Women's College, keep-ing in view the proposal submitted by the petitioners within a reasonable time to be stipulated. An alternative prayer has been made to direct the opp. party No. 2 to reconstitute the Governing Body in accordance with the provisions of the Orissa Education Act and the Rules framed thereunder within a stipulated period. W.P. (C) No. 19445 of 2010 has been filed with a prayer to quash the order dated 2-11-2010 passed by the Re-gional Director, Orissa, Bhubaneswar as at Annexure-7 and issue necessary direction to the opp. parties, more particularly the Re-gional Director, to approve the Governing Body basing upon the proposal submitted by the Educational Agency as at Annexure 10 signed by Mahanta Ramakrushna Dash, de-scribing him as the Secretary of Japakud Women's College. W.P.(C) No. 11253 of 2010 was listed along with these two writ petitions. Finding that the said case was re-lated to service matter where a contention was raised that Japakud Women's College is a composite college consisting of +2 and +3 Wings and as the said matter is an assigned matter of the Division Bench, it was directed to place the said matter before the assigned Division Bench of this Court. In these two present writ petitions, a question was raised by the opp. parties with regard to maintain-ability of the writ petitions at the instance of the petitioners or in other words with regard to locus standi of the petitioners to maintain these writ petitions. By order dated 25-1-2011, it was, therefore, directed that these writ petitions shall be heard on the above question.

(2.) Records were called for from the Gov-ernment containing the documents pertain-ing to permission granted for establishment of +3 Wing of the college and constitution and reconstitution of the Governing Body of the said college. The records available with the Government have been produced before this Court. The admitted case is that Japakud Women's College was established in the year, 1987 as a +2 college, after getting permis-sion under Section 5 of the Orissa Education Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). It thereafter got recognition by order dated 22-2-1996 for +2 Wing, which in the meantime has been notified as an aided in-stitution with effect from 1-6-1994 in accor-dance with the Grant-in-aid Order, 1994. With regard to the documents in connection with permission/recognition of Japakud Women's College (+3 Wing), learned coun-sel for the State produces written instruction dated 14-2-2011 given by the Deputy Direc-tor (NGC-I) that the said file was not traced out in the office in spite of all steps taken, but the copy of the application form obtained from Utkal University, in which the docu-ments relating to the first temporary recog-nition and first temporary affiliation of the college have been placed before this Court. From the said documents, it is revealed that on an application was made in the prescribed form nomenclatured as Application for Ad-mission to the Privileges of the Utkal Uni-versity, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar-4 by Mahanta Ramakrushna Dash on 30-10-1995 for affiliation of the said college to the Utkal University of the +3 Arts Course for the Ses-sion 1994-1995. Copy of the permission let-ter granted under Section 5(7) of the Act is also available, which is dated 14-11-1994.

(3.) The petitioners in W.P.(C) No. 19445 of 2010 claim to be the members of the Edu-cational Agency, which established the said college. The petitioner No. 1 in W.P.(C) No. 15603 of 2010 claims to be a member of the Educational Agency as well as a donor. Af-ter permission and recognition was granted to the said Japakud Women's College in re-spect of +3 Arts Course, the first Governing Body of the said college was constituted as per the provisions of Section 7 of the Act read with Rule 21 of the Orissa Education (Establishment, Recognition and Manage-ment of the Private Colleges) Rules 1991, which was approved by the Director of Higher Education on 16-1-1996. The said Governing Body thus constituted consisted the following members :