HARIHAR PRASAD PANDEY Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application the petitioner has prayed for issuance of an appropriate writ commanding upon and restraining the State -respondents from regulating/controlling the admission in Suryamukhi Dinesh Ayurved Medical College, Booty, Ranchi which is a private unaided institution and from compelling the college to fill up 40 seats of the college by the candidates chosen by the respondents for the Session 2006 -07 on the basis of Jharkhand Combined Competitive Entrance Examination Board and not to disturb the College by unnecessarily interfering in the administration and management of the said College.

(2.) THE petitioners case is that the said College was established in the year 1980 and has been successfully imparting Degree course in Ayurvedic Medicine. The College does not receive any financial aid from the State and it is purely a private unaided institution. The College is running with the permission of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, Government of India, New Delhi which is the highest for granting permission to open and run Aurvedic and Homeopathy Colleges. The Central Council of Indian Medicine has been inspecting the said College periodically and the council has given clearance certificate to run the College. The College selects the candidates for admission in every session for imparting Degree level education in Ayurvedic Science by holding a competitive examination, without any interference of the State Authorities. The College was affiliated to Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University. After reorganization of the State of Jharkhand, the Human Resources Development Department. Government of Jharkhand by its Notification dated 27.8.2001 vested all the powers and functions of the said Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University in the Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh in the matter of registration, conduct of examination, prescribing courses of studies etc. for Ayurvedic and Homeopathy Colleges. The College is accordingly functioning under Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh and the students are admitted and permitted to appear at the examination conducted through Vinoba Bhave University and they are awarded Degree from the said University. After creation of the State of Jharkhand, the Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh granted permissions for taking admission of 40 students for the Session 2003 -04 and also for the Session 2005 -06. For the Session 2006 -07 the Government has published an advertisement showing 40 seats of the College to be filled up by the State by candidates selected in Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination, 2006. It has been so mentioned in the prospectus issued by the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (Annexure -9). According to the petitioner, the State -respondents have no authority to regulate or control admission in the college which is a purely private unaided institution. It has been submitted that the respondents cannot interfere with the management of the College including in the process of admission of the students and they have no right to reserve the seats.

(3.) MR . B. Poddar, learned Sr. counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, submitted that in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in T.M.A. Pai Foundation and Ors. v. State of Karnataka and Ors. , the unaided institutions are entitled to autonomy in their admissions. It has been submitted that the right to establish and administer educational institutions also includes admission of the students. The College has been taking admission on the basis of its own merit based selection and there is complain of any arbitrariness on the part of the management of the College in admitting the students. The interference of the State -respondents by showing all the 40 seats as the State seats, is wholly arbitrary, illegal and without jurisdiction.