A deemed university, such as BITS, is not a "technical institution" as defined under the All India Council of Technical Education Act, 1987, and therefore, it is not subject to the AICTE's regulations.

1. - The petitioner is seeking admission in Engineering Degree Course on the basis of Pre-Engineering Test, 1994 through this writ petition.The Coordinator Pre-Engineering Test, 199 Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udalpur, (respondent No. 2) issued a notification which was published in the Rajasthan Patrika dated 6th August, 1994, for admission in Engineering Degree Course. It was a combined test for as many as 35 Institutes in Rajasthan. The name of Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, (respondent No. 4) was also included in the said list.

2. The petitioner appeared in the Test. He secured 672 marks out of 900. The merit list was notified. In general category, merit position No. 1 to 762 and in the reserve list merit position Nos. 763 to 912 were notified. The petitioner's merit position was 1006. The candidates whose names appeared in the merit list upto 762 were called for interview on different dates and given admissions. There was no question of considering the petitioner for admission, as his position in the merit list was 1006. He has been rightly denied admission.

3. The Birla Institute of Technology & Science had already issued its own notification for admission. The last date for making applications was 30th June, 1994. All the admissions have been finalised by the beginning of August, 1994. The petitioner was not entitled to get admission in this Institute under any circumstance.

4. Apart from it in the merit list he stood at serial No. 1006 where as the admissions have been closed in all the Institutes of Rajasthan at serial No. 762. The writ petition deserves dismissal only on this ground.

5. Since the counsel for both of parties have argued at length, on the interpretation of relevant provisions of All India Council of Technical Education Act, 1987 (for short 'the 1987 Act') and University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (for short 'the 1956 Act'), the discussion has become inevitable, though it is only of academic value.

6. The sole question which remains to be decided in this case is whether the All India Institute of Technical Education Council has any jurisdiction to hold entrance test for admission in the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (respondent No. 4).

7. The 1987 Act was enacted for the establishment of an All India Council for Technical Education with a view to the proper planning and co-ordinated development of the technical education system throughout the country, the promotion of qualitative improvements of such education in relation to planned quantitative growth and the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the technical education system and for matters connected therewith.

8. The Council is established under Section 3 and its functions are contained in Section 10, according to which it is the duty of the Council to take all such steps as its thinks fit for ensuring co-ordinated integrated development of technical education and maintenance of standards and for the purposes of performing its functions under this Act, the Council may under sub-section (k) grant approval for starting new technical institutions and for introduction of new courses or programmes in consultation with the agencies concerned. It is empowered under Section 10(0) to provide guidelines for admission for students to technical institutions and Universities imparting technical education.

9. Technical Institutions' have been defined in Section 2(h), which runs as follows:

"Technical Institution:"as an institution, not being a University, which offers courses or programmes of technical education, and shall include such other institutions as the Central Government may, in consultation with the Council, by notification in the official Gazette, declare as technical institutions.

Section 2(1) defines "University", which runs as follows:

"University" - means a University defined under clause (f) of Section 2 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 and includes an institution deemed to