Raghvendra S. Chauhan, J.

The petitioner, Regional College of Management, has challenged the legality of the endorsement dated 17-5-2016 issued by Bangalore University, whereby the University has rejected the petitioner's proposal for affiliation.

2. The brief facts of the case are the that petitioner is a registered Trust in the name and style of Regional College of Management, Bangalore, which is represented by the Management Trustee, who is an IIT graduate from Roorkee, and three other member trustees, who have ventured into the development of education in the country, in general, and in the City of Bengaluru, in particular, by investing huge sums of money to start an institution styled as Regional College of Management, Bangalore. Since the petitioner wanted to establish-a new institution along with courses of management studies in accordance with the guidelines notified by the All India Council for Technical Education ("AICTE" for short), on 12-2-2016, the petitioner submitted its application for affiliation to the Bangalore University, the respondent 1. The petitioner sought affiliation for its new program, namely post-graduation in MBA. Subsequently, on 4-3-2016, the petitioner not only submitted the complete application for seeking affiliation but also submitted a Demand Draft for Rs. 3 Lakhs to the University.

3. Thereafter, the petitioner also sought the approval of its MBA Program from AICTE by filing its application on 18-3-2016. However, the AICTE declined to approve the petitioner's MBA program. Therefore, the petitioner challenged AICTE's decision before this Court by filing a writ petition, namely Writ Petition No. 27296 of 2016. By interim order dated 29-4-2016, this Court directed the AICTE to re-inspect the petitioner's college on 30-4-2016. After re-inspecting the petitioner's college, the AICTE granted its approval for the MBA program to the petitioner.

4. Having received the approval from AICTE, the petitioner waited for the affiliation of its program with the respondent-University. However, by endorsement dated 17-5-2016, the University has rejected the petitioner's application ostensibly on the ground that according to the guidelines issued by the University for affiliation of a new post-graduate course, the college must have a continuous affiliation for five years for its graduate program, or have a permanent affiliation. According to the University, since the petitioner did not have a continuous affiliation of five years for its graduate program, the affiliation for its new post-graduate MBA Program could not be granted. Hence, the present petition before this Court.

5. Mr. M. Nagaprasanna, the learned Counsel for petitioner, has raised the following contentions before this Court: firstly, the that power of the Syndicate is defined by Sections 29 and 40 of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000 ("the Act" for short). Section 29(2)(t) of the Act bestows the power upon the Syndicate to enact, amend or repeal statutes. Chapter-V of the Act deals with "Statutes, Ordinances, Regulations and Rules". Section 40 of the Act, covered under Chapter-V of the Act, permits that a statute may provide for conditions under which colleges may be affiliated and such affiliation may be withdrawn. Invoking its power under Section 40 the Bangalore University has formulated "The Revised Statutes pertaining to the Affiliation of Colleges or Institutions". Statutes 34.1 to 34.7 prescribes an elaborate procedure and the conditions for affiliations. However, neither Section 29, nor Section 40 of the Act, nor the Statute empower the Syndicate to prescribe any guidelines for affiliation of the Colleges.

Secondly, Section 59 of the Act prescribes an elaborate procedure and lays down the conditions which need to be met for affiliation of a College or for affiliation of a new course. However, Section 59 of the Act does not permit the Syndicate to prescribe any guidelines. Moreover, the conditions laid down by Section 59 of the