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2006 Supreme(Mad) 2067
High Court of Judicature at Madras
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE PRABHA SRIDEVAN
Self Financing Private Teacher Training Institutes Association (Regd.) & Others - Appellant
Versus
The State of Tamil Nadu, rep. by its Secretary to Government & Others - Respondents
W.P. Nos.22161, 22215, 22820, 24502, 24629 & 24870 of 2006
Decided On : 19 August 2006
Important Points
Subject
Education Law - TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTES
Act Referred
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TEACHERS EDUCATION ACT : S.17, S.13
Headnote
(B) National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 - Tamil Nadu Private Colleges (Regulation) Act, 1976, Section 35 - State cannot exercise power under Section 35 of State Act to conduct inspection and en-croach upon the Councils power given under the Central Act - Only Union can exercise legislative or executive power in respect of standards of education.
(Prayer: Petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India respectively seeking - a writ of certiorari calling for the records in respect of the impugned Government Order in G.O. Ms. No.90, School Education (U1) Department dated 21.6.2006 and the consequential Government Order in G.O. (1D) No.180, School Education (U1) Department dated 3.7.2006, both issued by the 1st respondent and quash the same as illegal, unconstitutional and void insofar as the members of the petitioner are concerned;
a writ of certiorari calling for the records in respect of the impugned Government Order in G.O. Ms. No.90, School Education (U1) Department dated 21.6.2006 issued by the 1st respondent and the consequential Government Order in D.O. Letter No.12271/E1/2006 dated 29.6.2006 issued by the 2nd respondent and quash the same as illegal, unconstitutional and void insofar as the members of the petitioner are concerned;
a writ of certiorari calling for the records in respect of the impugned Government Order in G.O. Ms. No.90, School Education (U1) Department dated 21.6.2006 and the consequential Government Order in G.O. (1D) No.180, School Education (U1) Department dated 3.7.2006 of the 1st respondent and quash the said Government Orders as illegal, unconstitutional and void insofar as the members of the petitioner are concerned;
a writ of certiorari calling for the records in respect of the impugned Government Order in G.O. Ms. No.90, School Education (U1) Department dated 21.6.2006 issued by the 1st respondent and the consequential Government Order in D.O. Letter No.12271/E1/2006 dated 29.6.2006 issued by the 2nd respondent and quash the same as illegal, unconstitutional and void insofar as the members of the petitioner are concerned;
a writ of certiorari calling for the records in respect of the impugned Government Order in G.O. Ms. No.90, School Education (U1) Department dated 21.6.2006 and the consequential Government Order in G.O. (1D) No.180, School Education (U1) Department dated 3.7.2006, both issued by the 1st respondent and quash the same as illegal, unconstitutional and void insofar as the members of the petitioner are concerned.)
This is yet another tussle with regard to the demarcation of power in the field of education.
2. On 21.6.2006, the Government of Tamil Nadu issued a Government Order appointing a High Level Committee to enquire into the deficiencies in private Teacher Training Institutes and B.Ed. Colleges, and to find out if they possess the required infrastructural facilities and to file a report. The Chairman of the Committee is Thiru. K. Aludaiya Pillai, I.A.S. (Retired). The institutions which are subject of the G.O. are those institutions which have commenced functioning between the year 2001 and 2006, and the Annexure to the G.O. contains the list of all such institutions. On 29.6.2006, the second respondent addressed a letter to the fifth respondent inviting his attention to the aforesaid G.O. According to this communication, the second respondent was of the opinion that it will be impossible for the Committee to visit all the B.Ed. Colleges and therefore, it was decided to constitute a Three Member Committee, splitting the list of colleges region wise and instructing the Joint Director of Collegiate Education to inspect the colleges regarding the availability of infrastructure and to submit a report. By the communication dated 3.7.2006, the institutes were divided region wise. The scope of the enquiry was –
(a) to enquire whether all the institutions possess the required infrastructure facilities;
(b) to find out whether the appointments of teachers and servants were approved or whether provisional approval was obtained;
(c) to find out if there are any defects, and how the defects could be removed;
(d) to make recommendations as to how permission should be granted to such institutions so that there would be room for complaints. The G.O. is extracted hereunder:
3. The writ petitioners, who are eithe
