Unaided educational institutions have the right to devise their own admission procedure, subject to being fair, transparent, and non-exploitative. A Common Entrance Test is necessary to ensure uniformity in evaluating students from different sources and to promote merit and excellence.

( 1 ) THIS appeal has been filed by original respondent No. 1 in Special Civil Application No. 10693 of 2006 challenging the judgment and order dated 19th June, 2006 of the learned Single Judge. The original petitioner is respondent No. 1 herein and, for the sake of convenience, the parties shall be referred to as per their respective description in the petition.

( 2 ) THE petitioner is an Association of Managements of Gujarat Unaided Engineering Colleges and Institutions. Respondent No. 1 is Justice R. J. Shah Admission Committee for Professional Courses (Higher and Technical Education) while respondent No. 2 is the State of Gujarat. The petitioner-Association states that out of about 22 unaided colleges in the State, 19 colleges have formed the petitioner-Association. The controversy in question is in relation to the procedure to be adopted for admission by the petitioner-Association for Academic Year 2006-2007 and hence, when the matter came up for admission hearing on 28th June, 2006, after hearing the parties in the appeal, this Court listed the appeal for final hearing while directing the parties to maintain status-quo till then. The appeal has, accordingly, been finally heard on 29th June, 2006, though no formal order of admission had been passed. Hence, the same is made today to complete the record. ADMIT.

( 3 ) THE case of the petitioner-Association is that for Academic Year 2006-2007 the petitioner was entitled to devise its own method of admissions and accordingly on 22nd September, 2005 it wrote to the Principal Secretary to Government of Gujarat for Higher and Technical Eduction and Member Secretary of the Committee. It is stated therein that the examinations conducted by the Gujarat Higher Secondary Board for the 12th Std. are well conducted and can be treated both as certifying as well as entrance test examinations. Therefore, the petitioner stated that it shall prepare merit list based on the marks obtained by the students in theory of Physics, Chemistry and Maths (and Biology in case of courses like Food Processing Technology) obtained at the Higher Secondary Examinations. The petitioner also stated so far as the students passing CBSE and ISCE from schools located in Gujarat are concerned, they would be admitted on proportional basis and on the basis of marks scored in theory in relevant subjects at the board examinations. This communication was followed by communications dated 22nd October, 2005 and 21st February, 2006.

( 4 ) IT is further the case of the petitioner that on 15th April, 2006 the office-bearers of the petitioner-Association held a meeting with Principal Secretary of Higher and Technical Education and explained as to how the petitioner-Association would be regulating the issue of admissions. That this meeting was preceded by a meeting with Commissioner of Higher Education on 31st March, 2006. Thereafter, the petitioner-Association prepared an information booklet and forwarded a copy thereof to the Director of Technical Education with copies to the Member Secretary of the Committee and Principal Secretary, Higher and Technical Education for Information.

( 5 ) ON 4th May, 2006 the Committee communicated to the petitioner-Association that the action of the petitioner-Association was not adhering to the admission procedure laid down by Hon ble Supreme Court and, therefore, the advertisements published on 30th April, 2006 as well as application forms already distributed were required to be withdrawn. The petitioner-Association was further informed that a Common Entrance Test under the supervision of the Admission Committee may be conducted by the petitioner-Association or the petitioner-Association may adopt the marks obtained at Higher Secondary examinations and at GUJCET (Common Entrance Test conducted by the State Government) for preparing a merit list.

( 6 ) ON 5th May, 2006 the petitioner-Association raised detailed objections and stated that under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Const