Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2021 Supreme(Guj) 87

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
VINEET KOTHARI, GITA GOPI, JJ.
SWAMY VIVEKANAND EDUCATION TRUST - Appellant
Versus
M P SHAH EDUCATION SOCIETY, & others - Respondent
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 630 of 2016
In
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15076 of 2013
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2016
In
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 630 of 2016
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR ORDERS) NO. 1 of 2017
In
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 630 of 2016
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 2 of 2017
In
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 630 of 2016
With
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 742 of 2016
In
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15076 of 2013
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 2 of 2016
In
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 742 of 2016
In
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15076 of 2013
With
LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 844 of 2016
In
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15076 of 2013
Decided On : 08-02-2021

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant : MR DHAVAL DAVE, SENIOR COUNSEL with MR OMKAR C DAVE
For the Respondent: MR SHALIN MEHTA, SENIOR COUNSEL with ABHIMANYU RATHOD, MR UTKARSH SHARMA, Asstt. Government Pleader, MR MEHUL H RATHOD

Point of Law: All education is expected to be liberal. It should free us from shackles of ignorance, prejudice and unfounded belief. If we are incapable of achieving good life, it is due to faults in our inwards being, to darkness in us. Process of education is slow conquering of this darkness. To lead us from darkness to light, to free us from every kind of domination except that of reason, is aim of education.

Headnote:
Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University Act, 1986 - Sections 16(1),35,22,20 - Rice Milling Industry (Regulation) Act, 1958 - Section 8(3)(c )- Constitution of India,1950 – Article 14,21A,21,226 – Application - SVET resolved to start new Commerce College from June 2013 vide its Resolution and it applied for Affiliation to Respondent University - Before that a Local Inspection Committee was appointed by the Respondent University which carried out inspection - Respondent – MPSES objected before University about approval to be granted to Appellant – SVET and as per procedure envisaged in Act of 1986 and in terms of Government Guidelines Academic Council requested Executive Council – the higher body to defer consideration of application of Appellant - Executive Council resolved to scrap requirement of taking NOC from other similar educational institutional or Colleges within the radius of 25 kms. as per earlier practice and Executive Council proceeded to recommend to State Government to grant approval for affiliation inprinciple to SVET for Academic Year 2013-14 to Appellant - Whether fair and bona fide competition in field of imparting education should be a ban or a bane is fulcrum of present Intra Court Appeal arising out of CAV Judgment of the learned Single Judge dismissing the writ petition filed by M.P. Shah Education Society (MPSES), an objector to the approval and affiliation of Respondent No.4
Finding of the court: Court opinion Executive Council could justifiably take a decision looking to expediency of matter involved before them and dispensing with requirement of obtaining NOC from other competitors of same locality and even otherwise coming to a conclusion about need of setting up of a new educational institution in that area could disagree with recommendation of Academic Council and proceed further to consider application of Appellant – SVET and even grant approval which in turn came to be approved in-principle further by the State Government- Thus when two higher bodies viz. Executive Council of University under Act of 1986 and State Government itself –Final authority have considered it appropriate to grant in-principle approval to Appellant's Commerce College – SVET Court fail to understand how the objector can agitate any more issue and insist on reconsideration or quashing of the approval under directions of the Court - Court cannot even appreciate the restrictions put about existence of more than one or more educational institutions to provide such education and these variety of factors which may be relevant to determine the need for setting up of more of such educational institutions which is ever changing and therefore, no static criteria or yardsticks can be fixed even by competent bodies under Act of 1986 - Purpose of affiliation and approval with the statutory Universities is obviously to ensure objective and uniform standards of education where the quality control over the colleges or institutions can be supervised and maintained by statutory Universities, but nonetheless right to set up such educational institutions cannot be curtailed or restricted by concerned competent bodies -
Result: Civil Applications are disposed of

JUDGMENT :

VINEET KOTHARI, J.

1. Whether the fair and bona fide competition in the field of imparting education should be a ban or a bane is the fulcrum of the present Intra Court Appeal arising out of the CAV Judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 5.7.2016 dismissing the writ petition (Special Civil Application No.15076 of 2013) filed by M.P. Shah Education Society (MPSES), an objector to the approval and affiliation of Respondent No.4 – Swamy Vivekanand Education Trust (SVET) (Appellant before us), whereby the learned Single Judge held that the inprinciple approval of the Commerce Graduation Course given to the Appellant – Swamy Vivekanand Education Trust by Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University (the University) was not in accordance with the provisions of the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University Act, 1986 (the Act of 1986).

2. The learned Single Judge, therefore, held that the impugned Resolution No.30 of the Executive Council of the University dated 30.4.2014 scrapping requirement of obtaining NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the other similarly situated institutions in the same locality was liable to be quashed and consequently, the inprinciple prior approval given by the University on 11.6.2013 and the State Government on 27.6.2013 were also liable to the quashed.

3. The learned Single Judge, therefore, directed the Appellant to apply afresh and the Respondents were directed to reexamine the application in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Act of 1986 and the Appellant was further directed not to admit any further students in its new Commerce College. The costs of Rs.1,00,000/was also imposed on the Appellant College and Rs.50,000/on the University to be paid to the objector Petitioner – MPSES, whose NOC was purportedly not taken before granting such inprinciple approval to the Appellant – Swamy Vivekanand Education Trust.

4. The operation of the order of the learned Single Judge was stayed by a coordinate Division Bench of this Court on 19.7.2016 in the present Letters Patent Appeal No.630 of 2016.

5. Some dates with the crisp facts leading to the present Intra Court Appeal can be noted as under.

6. The Appellant – SVET resolved to start new Commerce College from June 2013 vide its Resolution dated 4.9.2011 and it applied for Affiliation to the Respondent University on 28.3.2013. Before that a Local Inspection Committee was appointed by the Respondent University which carried out inspection on 8.1.2013. The Respondent – MPSES objected before the University about the approval to be granted to the Appellant – SVET on 4.3.2013 and as per the procedure envisaged in the Act of 1986 and in terms of the Government Guidelines dated 21.12.2001, the Academic Council requested the Executive Council – the higher body to defer the consideration of the application of the Appellant on 25.3.2013.

7. On 30.4.2013, the Executive Council resolved to scrap the requirement of taking NOC from the other similar educational institutional or Colleges within the radius of 25 kms. as per the earlier practice and the Executive Council proceeded to recommend to the State Government on 11.6.2013 to grant approval for affiliation inprinciple to SVET for the Academic Year 2013-14 to the Appellant. Such inprinciple approval was given by the State Government on 27.6.2013 and accordingly, the University proceeded to admit students in the said Commerce Course for the Session 2013-14 which has continued uptil now despite the objector writ petition of MPSES allowed by the learned Single Judge, because a stay order was granted by the coordinate Division Bench of this Court in the present Intra Court Appeal on 19.7.2016.

8. Therefore, essentially, the legal battle in the present Intra Court Appeal is between two competitors providing Commerce Education situated in the same locality.

9. The learned Single Judge painstakingly referring to the various provisions of the Act of 1986 under which the said University was created, held that the proc

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2021 Supreme(Guj) 87

Cases Referred (7)