1. Devi Lallayogeshwari (Lal Ded) Trust for Educational Advancement and Cultural Resurgence, ChakBhawal, Sri Panditan Chowk, Jammu, was established in the year 2010. It set up a College of Pharmacy and to accomplish this purpose, construction process on a suitable piece of land at Chak Bhalwal Tehsil and District Jammu was started. The construction was completed in the year 2010. NOC was solicited. The State Government issued NOC vide no. ME-Gaz-210/2010 dated 28th August 2012. Petitioner was permitted to run the College of Pharmacy under the banner of “Prabha Harjilal College of Pharmacy”, Madr-e-Meharban Campus Sciences, ChakBhalwal, Seri Panditian Chowk, Jammu. For grant of provisional/temporary affiliation, petitioner submitted NOC alongwith application, to Director, College Development Council of Jammu University.

2. Provisional/Temporary affiliation to run B.Pharmacy Course for academic session 2013-14, according to petitioner, was granted by University of Jammu vide no. CDC/2013/4558-64 dated 9th September 2013, with intake capacity of sixty students only, for one session and subject to fulfilment of seven conditions and one of the conditions was to get NOC from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) before start of next academic sessions. Meanwhile, it is averred, as new sessions had to start, provisional affiliation was sought to be extended. Before the University could extend provisional affiliation for the session 2014-15, it was satisfied that there was no need for NOC from AICTE. This was because of judgement dated 25th April 2013 passed by the Supreme Court in Association of Management of Private College v. All India Council for Technical Education and others reported in (2013) 8 SCC 271, holding therein that no approval of AICTE was necessary, once University had given its affiliation to start the course. This in turn was based on the reasoning that private colleges, affiliated to Universities, were governed under the provisions of UGC Act and AICTE Act does not override UGC Act and that AICTE Act does not belittle and destroy authority or autonomy of other statutory bodies, like UGC, nor was AICTE treated to be superior and supervisory or controlling authority of Universities and thereby superimpose itself upon the said Universities, merely for the reason that it is laying down certain teaching standards in technical education or programmes formulated in any of the departments or units of Universities. The Universities, their constituent units and private colleges, affiliated to Universities, like petitioner, running B.Pharmacy course, approval of AICTE and compliance with AICTE guidelines for intake of students, was held not to be required by Universities or their constituent and affiliated colleges, including private aided and unaided colleges, conducting such courses. Keeping this in view, the Director, CDC, University of Jammu, vide no. CDC/2014/4598-610 dated 13th October 2014, granted temporary/provisional affiliation in favour of petitioner institute to run B. Pharmacy Course for academic session with intake of 60 students. This, however, was subject to the conditions that the Chairman of the institute shall give an undertaking on the stamp paper of proper value that he shall remove all deficiencies pointed out by the Investigation Team within a period of three months. Admission for the year 2014-15, as said by petitioner, was given to students and they are being imparted with education for B. Pharmacy course and the admitted students have to undergo the course for four years.

3. For session 2015-16, when petitioner-college asked respondent University for vouchsafing temporary/provisional affiliation to run B.Pharmacy course, the respondent University is stated to have insisted upon petitioner-college to get NOC from AICTE. Petitioner-college, therefore, approached Regional Officer, AICTE, with an application for NOC. In response thereto, AICTE vide letter no. NWRO/AICTE/Approval/2014-