GURPREET SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are students of Jind Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jind. They have filed the present writ petition invoking Art. 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing the decision of (sic) of Technical Education, Haryana) allowing respondent No. 5 (The Principal/Director, Jind Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jind) to fill up the seats on paid basis from the students who did not appear in the Regional Engineering College Examination or any other examination or could not qualify the same. It was prayed that a direction should be issued to the abovesaid respondents first to do the sliding in the allotment of branches to the candidates who had been admitted after passing the Regional Engineering College examination either against free seat or against the paid seat and after adjusting of these candidates to allow respondent No. 5 to fill up the rest of the seats in any manner.

(2.) The facts alleged are that the Jind Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jind, is a private Engineering College duly recognised by the All India Council of Technical Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, New Delhi. It is affiliated to the Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. It is governed by the rules and regulations framed by the All India Council of Technical Education, New Delhi. Respondent No. 6 (The Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra) is entrusted with the job of co-ordinating the admission of Engineering Courses in all Government and private Engineering Colleges located in the State of Haryana. Respondent No. 6 issued an Admission Brochure 1998-99 for admission to 4 Years Engineering and 5 Years Architecture Courses. A Common Entrance Test was held and based on the ranks i.e. merit position in the test and preference exercised by the candidates, admissions were granted to different branches. Admission Brochure in this regard had been issued. Jind Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jind, is one of the affiliated Institutes. After the test, successful candidates were required to submit their applications and the petitioners also submitted the same. After scrutiny of the applications, the candidates were to be present for counselling before the Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra. The same was held in three sessions. As per the rules, the candidates admitted through first counselling are given institutions and branches. The branches can be upgraded if vacancies are available in better branches. In the second and third counselling, only institutions are allotted at the first instance and depending upon the vacancies after upgradation, all students admitted through first counselling, the other students are allotted branches by the Institutions in the presence of the representatives of Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra. The Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, has been controlling the examination. It is alleged that in between 23.9.1998 and 11.11.1998 some of the colleges had filled up the vacant seats through open advertisement and allotted these vacant seats in certain better branches. The result is stated to be that the Haryana candidates who passed the CEET-98, have paid annual fees and have been allotted low priority branches like Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. While low ranking candidates who did not pass the said test or did not take the said test had been given higher preference branches like Computers Engineering, Electronics Engineering and Telecommunications Engineering. Asserting that this method adopted is unjust, unreasonable and illegal, the present writ petition has been filed.

(3.) Needless to state that the petition had been contested. In the short reply filed by the All India Council for Technical Education, it was pointed out that the All India Council for Technical Education has no direct role to play in the admission matter. It had framed guidelines for admissions to Engineering Degree and Engineering Diploma programmes. The petitioners have not pointed out that any of the regulations/guidelines framed by the All Indian Council for Technical Education had been violated.