IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized the necessity of a reasoned order and compliance with statutory requirements for the takeover of educational institution management, ruling the Government's action as unlawful.

JUDGMENT :

PER DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, C.J:

The present writ appeal under clause 15 of the Letters Patent has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 03.04.2023 passed in W.P.No.29072 of 2017.

Brief facts of the case:

2. The petitioners/appellants herein filed W.P.No.29072 of 2017 challenging the Government Order bearing number G.O.Ms.No.17 Higher Education (CE) Department dated 30.03.2017, whereby the assets and management of Sri Trikoteswara Swamy Educational Society were ordered to be taken over by the Government. The G.O. was challenged inter alia on the ground of violation of principles of natural justice as also the procedure prescribed under Section 60 of the Andhra Pradesh Education Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as “Act of 1982”).

3. Sri Trikoteswara Swamy Educational Society/appellant No.1 herein is a society registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860. The said society started a degree college known as Nandamuri Basavatarakam and Nallapati Venkateswarulu Choudary Degree College, Narasaropet/appellant No.2 herein, with effect from December, 1984. According to the petitioners, the college was being run very well to the satisfaction of the students studying therein. The petitioners alleged that the Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly started interfering with the management of the college and succeeded in dividing the managing body into two groups. Several cases were filed against the management of the college, which finally ended in favour of the management of the college. Several enquiries were set up which also ended in favour of the management of the college.

4. The claims made in the writ petition with regard to the successful running of the college by the management of the petitioner, however, do not find support from the writ court inasmuch as a Division Bench of the erstwhile High Court of Andhra Pradesh, vide its order dated 12.12.1996 passed in W.A.No.1112 of 1996, directed that the charge of Secretary and Correspondentship of the college, run by the society, be handed over to the District Collector, Guntur District. The genesis of the aforesaid order lay in the allegations of omission, commission and mismanagement levelled against the management of the college in question. The order passed by the Division Bench was challenged before the Apex Court but was confirmed by virtue of the judgment and order dated 05.05.2007, passed in Civil Appeal No.1431 of 1997. The Collector, Guntur, appears to have run the affairs of the college from 1996 to 2004.

5. From 2005 onwards, the college came under the Secretary and Correspondentship of Mr. N. Ramachandra Prasad, during whose time it was alleged that the functioning of the college deteriorated to the extent that the Nagarjuna University, to which the petitioner college was affiliated, disaffiliated it after an inquiry. On a surprise visit and inquiry into the allegations made by the public regarding mismanagement and misuse of assets, the Regional Joint Director, Guntur, submitted a report stating that there were only eleven unaided teaching staff and two aided teaching staff in the college and there were no admissions during the academic year 2014-15.

6. The Government then ordered the appointment of a three-member committee through its order dated 09.10.2014 for the submission of a detailed report on the functioning of the college, which report was furnished to the Commissioner of Collegiate Education. The committee recommended the takeover of the college by the management.

7. A show cause notice dated 01.09.2015 was then issued to the petitioner college, represented by its Secretary, N. Ramachandra Prasad, as to why action be not taken as per the recommendations of the committee under Section 60 of the Act of 1982. An explanation was tendered vide letter dated 14.12.2015, in which a stand was taken that at the time when the management was handed over to the Special Officer i.e., the District Collector, Guntur, in the year 1996, there were 13