ADESH UNIVERSITY Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall dispose of three writ petitions bearing CWP Nos.12135, 12299 & 12484 of 2014, involving common questions of law and facts. However, to dictate order, facts have been taken from CWP No.12135 of 2014 titled Adesh University Vs. State of Punjab & others.

(2.) THE petitioner -University is aggrieved against the order dated 16.06.2014 (Annexure P14), passed by the State, whereby the counselling for the purpose of admission to the MBBS & BDS courses for the session 2013 -14, in the University, has been stopped. A further prayer has been made for a writ in the nature of prohibition directing the respondents not to interfere in the smooth functioning of the University since it has been functioning under the Adesh University Act, 2012 (for brevity, the 'University Act').

(3.) A news item was published in the Hindustan Times on 11.06.2014, stating that the petitioner -University was charging Rs.40 lacs each from MBBS students, which was 20 -fold the tuition fee, fixed by the State and the news item was with ulterior motive. Clarification was issued in the same paper by the petitioner -University as to clarify all the wrong facts given in the news item. Another news item was published on 15.06.2014 and the petitioner -University sent a legal notice to the Editor -in -Chief of the said paper. Since counselling was slated for17.06.2014 and 18.06.2014, then the impugned order was received at 9.30 a.m. and the University had stopped the counselling on the ground that admission had to be done by the Centralized Counselling by the BFUHS, as per notification No.5/9/2009 -3SS3/1472 dated 07.03.2014 (Annexure P15). An explanation was also asked as to how the fees was being charged at the said rate, as reported.