JAIPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner-University seeks to assail the legality and validity of second proviso to Regulation 3(A) of the University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020 (for short 'the Regulations of 2020') to the extent it prescribes a condition of having submitted an application to National Assessment and Accreditation Council (for short 'the NAAC') on or before 29/2/2020 as an eligibility criteria for Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to offer programmes through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode, for the academic session 2020-21 commencing July, 2020. The petitioner has prayed that the aforesaid proviso to the extent indicated above be declared unconstitutional, ultra vires Article 14 of the Constitution of India, University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (for short 'the Act of 1956') and consequently, void, illegal and invalid. The petitioner has also prayed for writ or direction in the nature of Mandamus to the respondents to allow the petitioner to run and conduct Open and Distance Learning (ODL) courses for next academic session 2020-21.

(2.) In this petition, initially an interim order was passed on 25/8/2021 allowing the petitioner to submit offline application in prescribed format to the University Grants Commission (for short 'the UGC') for its approval to run Open and Distance Learning and Online Programme courses for the session 2021-22 with a further direction that the application shall be considered by the UGC in terms of prevalent regulations and the same shall not be rejected for not applying to the NAAC till 29/2/2020 in view of the impugned second proviso to Regulation 3(A) of the Regulations of 2020 and due to existing NAAC score of the petitioner. By the aforesaid interim order, it was also directed that since the UGC has fixed last date for admission till 15/12/2021, the NAAC shall conduct the inspection of the petitioner-University to award necessary score of accreditation well in time so that further complications and difficulties may be avoided. The permission/approval of the UGC was made subject to the outcome of the writ petition.

(3.) When the matter came up for consideration before this Court on 8/12/2021, application for vacating the interim order, preferred by the UGC, was rejected. The respondent-UGC, aggrieved by the rejection of application for vacating stay order, filed Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 20769-20770/2021 before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and vide order dtd. 17/12/2021, the Hon'ble Supreme Court stayed the operation of order dtd. 25/8/2021 passed in the writ petition and order dtd. 8/12/2021 passed in misc. application. The Hon'ble Supreme Court further directed that the NAAC can conduct the inspection for accreditation without reference to the pendency of Special Leave Petition.