AASTHA EDUCATIONAL & CHARITABLE TRUST (REGD ) Vs. ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has prayed for the issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus, directing respondent no.1 to condone the delay in depositing the processing fee and grant extension of approval for the session 2015-16 for existing courses, while accepting the extension fee along with late fee.

(2.) In brief, the petitioner is running the polytechnic-diploma courses in the name of Aastha Polytechnic, village Bhagwanpura, SubTehsil Mustafabad, District Yamuna Nagar. An educational institution is required to seek extension of approval before start of each next academic session. The petitioner has intake capacity of 300 students in total 4 disciplines every year and has been continuously granted extension of approval for the years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15. The polytechnic-diploma level technical institution is also required to obtain affiliation from the Haryana State Board of Technical Education constituted under the Haryana State Board of Technical Education Act, 2008.

(3.) The All India Council for Technical Education-respondent no.1 (hereinafter referred to as the "AICTE") issued an Approval Process Handbook-2015-2016 (hereinafter referred to as the APH-2015-16"), prescribing the formalities required to be completed by an existing institute seeking extension of approval. As per clause 3.3 of the APH-2015-16, the fee for extension of approval for the petitioner-institute was Rs. 1 lac. There is also a provision for deposit of the process fee with late fee of Rs. 2 lacs, but the payment options were made available only through the Corporate Internet Banking and applications for extension of approval were to be accepted subject to realization of the payment. It is also provided in clause 3.5 of the APH-2015-16 that submission of an application for extension of approval on web-portal on or before the last date as mentioned in the schedule is mandatory.