Pending applications for educational institution recognition must be evaluated under regulations in effect at the time of application, with a requirement for administrative decisions to be reasoned.

JUDGMENT

Prateek Jalan, J. (Oral)--The proceedings in the matter have been conducted through video conferencing.

1. Issue notice. Ms. Kartika Sharma, learned counsel, accepts notice on behalf of the respondents. The petition is taken up for disposal with the consent of learned counsel for the parties.

2. The petitioner applied to the Northern Regional Committee ["NRC"] of the National Council for Teacher Education ["NCTE"] for recognition of its D.El.Ed. course on 30.12.2012. The petitioner's application was rejected on the ground of a ban imposed by the State of Rajasthan on setting up of new institutes. The petitioner challenged the aforesaid rejection by way of a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court, being S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3598/2018. The High Court, by an order dated 14.03.2018, disposed of a batch of writ petitions, including the one filed by the petitioner. It directed the respondents to reconsider the petitioner's application.

3. In the meanwhile, the NCTE Regulations, 2014 ["2014 Regulations"] were notified which inter alia introduced the requirement of a No Objection Certificate ["NOC"] from the affiliating body and a requirement that the institution must be a composite institution.

4. With respect to the petitioner's application, the NRC issued a show cause notice dated 28.02.2019, on the ground of non-submission of the NOC and proof of the institution being a composite institution. In the said show cause notice, reference was also made to a communication dated 18.12.2018 from the NCTE headquarters.

5. The petitioner submitted a reply dated 22.03.2019 stating that the NOC from the affiliating body had been submitted on 26.02.2019 and that the requirement of a composite institution was introduced only by the 2014 Regulations, whereas the petitioner's application, having been made on 30.12.2012, would be governed by the NCTE Regulations, 2009 ["2009 Regulations"].

6. A final show cause notice dated 10.12.2020 was issued to the petitioner by the Western Regional Committee of the NCTE ["WRC"] [to whom jurisdiction over institutions in the State of Rajasthan had been transferred in the meantime]. In the aforesaid notice, the ground regarding the petitioner-institution not being a composite institution was reiterated and the petitioner was asked to file a reply.

7. The petitioner, in its reply dated 08.01.2021, reiterated its contention regarding inapplicability of the 2014 Regulations.

8. The immediate grievance ventilated in the present writ petition is regarding a decision taken in a meeting of the WRC on 07- 09.07.2021 wherein the WRC has decided as follows:-

"The original file of the Institution along-with other related documents were carefully considered and examined by WRC in the light of NCTE Act, 1993, Regulations and Guidelines issued by NCTE from time to time and the following observation were made:-

1. The institution is not a composite institution as per clause 2 (b) of NCTE Regulations 2014.

2. The reply to show cause notice submitted by the institution is not acceptable.

In view of the above, the Committee decided that application of the institution be refused u/s 14 (3) (b) of the NCTE Act for D.El.Ed programme."

9. Mr. Sanjay Sharawat, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the view taken by the WRC with regard to the requirement of a composite institution is directly contrary to the position taken in proceedings before the Division Bench of this Court, as recorded in an order dated 21.02.2018 passed in W.P.(C) 1573/2018 [Bhai Surender Kumar Memorial College of Education vs. National Council for Te