Judgement

B.C.RAY, J :- The petitioner, Vellore Educational Trust is a Trust registered by the Registrar, Registration Department at Vellore which is in Tamil Nadu. It wants to establish an Engineering College in Andhra Pradesh for the benefit of Tamil minorities.

2. There is no dispute and indeed there cannot be any dispute that Tamils are minority community in Andhra Pradesh. The petitioner trust in order to conserve and preserve the language, script and culture of the Tamil speaking community particularly of those who have been living in the adjoining districts made an application to the first and second respondent on May 24, 1984 seeking permission u/S. 20 of the Andhra Pradesh Education Act, 1982 to establish a private engineering college with affiliation to Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. As the respondents did not take any action on the said application, the petitioner trust gave several reminders to the respondents to consider the application. The petitioner also made a written application to Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati on June 22, 1985 for according affliation/recognition to the Maruti College of Engineering, Palluru, Chittoor District which is a unit of the petitioners trust. The Registrar, Sri Venkateswara University, the third respondent by his letter dt. Aug. 12, 1985 rejected the application for affiliation on the ground that the question of granting affiliation to the petitioners Maruti College of Engineering will be considered only on production of permission letter from the Government of Andhra Pradesh for starting of a private engineering college at Palluru.

3. The petitioner filed a writ petition before the High Court for a writ of certiorari for quashing the decision of the University and also for a direction against the State Government to grant permission u/S. 20 of the said Act and also for other reliefs. The said writ petition No. 12215 of 1985 was dismissed as premature by a single Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh by observing as follows : -

"Under S. 20(3) of the A.P. Education Act, 1982 recognition of the private Institution is mandatory and as long as that recognition is not accorded the question of its affiliation to the University does not arise. Obviously for this reason the University in their letter dt. Aug. 12,1985 informed the petitioner that his request for affiliation will be considered on his submitting a copy of the permission granted by the Government. Admittedly, no such permission has been granted so far. Therefore, the writ petition is premature. It is accordingly dismissed."

4. The petitioner thereafter filed a writ appeal No. 1260 of 1985. The Division Bench allowed the appeal with the following order

"....................

The Director of Technical Education is directed to dispose of the application made by the writ petitioner on May 24, 1984 within one month from today. The writ petition is ordered accordingly. No costs.

In view of the order passed in the writ petition, no orders need be passed in the writ appeal. No costs.Advocates fee Rs. 150/-"

5. The State Government i.e. respondent 1 sent a letter No. 746/EC.2/85-4 dt. 30th Jan. 1986 to the Chairman of the petitioner trust intimating that the application for permission has been rejected on the ground................ " The present policy of Government is also not to give permission to any more private engineering colleges until the existing engineering colleges get stabilised and consolidated."

6. Feeling aggrieved by this order, the petitioner has filed the instant writ petition. It has been stated in the petition that the application for permission u/s. 20 of the Andhra Pradesh Education Act, 1982 was filed as early as in May, 1984 before the respondent 1 whereas the policy not to grant permission for establishment of new engineering colleges came into force from July, 1985. It has also been stated that the authorities concerned discriminated in the matter of grant of recognition of colleges inasmuch as Chudi