KAMAL BHATIA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of two writ petitions Nos. 6914 of 2000 and 16765 of 1999 involving common questions of law and facts. The petitioners in these writ petitions are students of various Engineering Colleges of Punjab who had been admitted to second year/3rd semester of Bachelor of Engg./Technology course under the Lateral Entry Engineering Test 1999 (for short "LEET-99") conducted by the Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar (for short "the University"), on 18-7-1999. They are aggrieved by the notice issued by the University in the Tribune dated 12-8-1999 notifying that as per the fee structure as revised by the Punjab Government they were required to pay the same fee and other charges as was being charged from the candidates seeking admission to 1st year B.E./B.Tech. 1999-2000.

(2.) Before adverting to the points at issue the relevant facts may first be noticed. The Punjab Government under the directions of Ministry of Human Resource Development and All India Council for Technical Education had framed a scheme in 1994 whereby Diploma holders were to be granted admission directly into the second year or 3rd semester of Bachelor of Engineering/Technology course. For this purpose a separate entrance test was introduced which was known as LEET i.e. Lateral Entry Engineering Test. It is an admitted fact that the fee structure of students admitted directly to the second year of the degree course through LEET was maintained at par with other second year students who had been admitted to the degree course in the 1st year in the preceding year. This practice had been regularly followed up to 1998. Even in the Information-cum-Admission Brochure issued for LEET-99 by the University, this parity had been maintained. Clause 4.5 of Part B of this Brochure which is relevant for this purpose is reproduced for ready reference:-

(3.) Sh. Puneet Jindal, Advocate, appearing on behalf of the petitioners contends that there was no justification whatsoever in issuing the impugned notice on 12-8-1999. According to him, the decision of the Punjab Government relied upon in this notice appears to be the one contained in letter dated 15-3-1999 addressed to the Director, Technical Education and Training, Punjab, Chandigarh (Annexure P-1). He argued that as per this letter, the revised tuition fee and other fee were to be charged from the students admitted to the first year of the degree course in the academic session 1999-2000 and not to the students admitted directly into the second year under the LEET-99. He pointed out that the University had earlier issued an Information-cum-Admission Brochure for the Common Entrance Test 1999 (for short "CET-99") held on 30-5-1999 for admission to the First year of Bachelor of Engineering/Technology/Architecture courses and the relevant letters of the State Government dated 15-3-1999 had duly been annexed as Annexures-7 and 8 in the Brochure itself. In clause 4.5 of Part B of this Brochure, it had been mentioned that the fee structure was to be governed by these two Annexures. To elaborate his argument he referred to Rule 4.5 of Part B of this Brochure which reads as under :