Powers for issuance of directions given to permanent committee.

Common Judgment: P.K. Misra, J.

These two sets of appeals have been directed against the common order dated 13.7.2004 passed by the Hon’ble single Judge in W.P.Nos.16034,16068,16095,16444 to 16447, 16659 to 16662 and 17383 of 2004 and the connected miscellaneous petitions. W.A.No.2856 of 2004 has been filed by the Permanent Committee for the conduct of Common Entrance Test and the Government of Tamil Nadu and the other three appeals have been filed by All India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association, Forum of Tamil Nadu Minority Self Financing Engineering Colleges and the Consortium of Professional Arts & Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu respectively.

2. The contesting respondent in the appeal filed by the State Government and the Permanent Committee is the appellant in the connected W.A.No.3053 of 2004, wherein the State and the Permanent Committee are the contesting respondents.

3. We have heard the learned Advocate General on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Permanent Committee and Dr.Rajeev Dhavan, Senior Counsel for the Consortium of Professional Arts & Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu and the Forum of Tamil Nadu Minority Self Financing Colleges. Even though some of the appeals have been filed through some other counsels, those counsels have not appeared at the time when the appeals were taken up for hearing, obviously because of the boycott-call given by various Bar Associations. Since the questions raised in those appeals are also raised in the appeals in which Dr.Rajeev Dhavan made submissions, we have not thought it fit to adjourn the hearing of those matters, particularly, keeping in view the urgency in the matter of admission into unaided engineering colleges.

4. The facts and circumstances giving rise to the filing of the appeals are as follows :-

As a sequel to the decision of the Supreme Court in T.M.A. PAI FOUNDATION AND OTHERS v. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS (2002 (8) SCC 481) – hereinafter referred to as T.M.A.Pai case - rendered by the Bench consisting of eleven Judges of the Supreme court, the Constitution Bench of five Judges in the subsequent decision ISLAMIC ACADEMY OF EDUCATION AND ANOTHER v. STATE OF KARNATAKA AND OTHERS (2003 (6) SCC 697) -hereinafter referred to as Islamic Academy case -, clarified certain observations and issued direction to the States to constitute permanent Committees. The relevant portion of the directions contained in para 19 are extracted below:-

“ 19. We now direct that the respective State Governments do appoint a permanent Committee which will ensure that the tests conducted by the association of colleges is fair and transparent. . . . The Committee shall have powers to oversee the tests to be conducted by the association. This would include the power to call for the proposed question paper(s), to know the names of the paper-setters and examiners and to check the method adopted to ensure papers are not leaked. The Committee shall supervise and ensure that the test is conducted in a fair and transparent manner. The Committee shall have the power to permit an institution, which has been established and which has been permitted to adopt its own admission procedure for the last, at least, 25 years, to adopt its own admission procedure and if the Committee feels that the needs of such an institute are genuine, to admit, students of their community, in excess of the quota allotted to them by the State Government. Before exempting any institute or varying in percentage of quota fixed by the State, the State Government must be heard before the Committee. It is clarified that different percentage of quota for students to be admitted by the management in each minority or non-minority unaided professional college(s) shall be separately fixed on the basis of their need by the respective State Governments and in case of any dispute as regards fixation of percentage of quota, it will be open to the management to approach the Committee. It is also clarified that no