Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2016 Supreme(Mad) 1595

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
M. SATHYANARAYANAN, J.
Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Technology - Petitioner
Vs.
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), (A Statutory Body of Govt. of India) Rep. by its Director/Approval Bureau & Ors. - Respondents
W.P.No.18356 of 2016 and WMP.Nos.16059, 16060 and 16416 of 2016
Decided On : 08-06-2016

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr. V.T. Gopalan, Senior Counsel, for M/s. B. Saraswathi.
For the Respondents: Mr.AR.L.Sundaresan, Senior Counsel for M/s.AL.Gandhimathi, Mr. M. Vijayakumar Standing Counsel, Mr. R. Govindasamy, Special Govt. Pleader.
Mr. P. Vijendran for petitioner in WMP.No.16416/2016

Compliance with AICTE regulations regarding land ownership and possession is mandatory and cannot be circumvented by subsequent compliance after the impugned order and beyond the time schedule.

Headnote:
AICTE - Extension of Approval for Technical Institution - [Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Sections 105-117], [AICTE Act, Section 22-23], [AICTE Handbook 2016-2017, Clause 17], [M/s.Oswal Agro Mills Ltd. v. Collector of Central Excise and Others, AIR 1993 SC 2288], [Parshavanath Charitable Trust and Others v. All India Council for Technical Education and Others, (2013) 3 SCC 385], [Jayamatha Engineering College v. Union of India and Others, (2014) 16 SCC 350] - The court dismissed the writ petition challenging the rejection of the application for extension of approval by AICTE for the academic year 2016-2017, citing non-compliance with land ownership and possession requirements as per AICTE regulations. The court held that the lease of private land did not meet the regulations and could not be read down in light of the Transfer of Property Act. The court also rejected the argument that subsequent compliance with the requirements should lead to approval, as it came after the impugned order and beyond the time schedule. The court dismissed the petition, stating that the petitioner institution could seek re-inspection and consideration for the next academic year.
Fact of the Case:

The petitioner institution, Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Technology, challenged the rejection of its application for extension of approval by AICTE for the academic year 2016-2017, citing lease of private land and non-production of the occupancy letter as reasons for rejection.
Finding of the Court:

The court found that the lease of private land did not meet the AICTE regulations and could not be read down in light of the Transfer of Property Act. The court also rejected the argument that subsequent compliance with the requirements should lead to approval, as it came after the impugned order and beyond the time schedule.
Issues: The issues revolved around the compliance with AICTE regulations regarding land ownership and possession, and the timing of compliance with the requirements.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the lease of private land did not meet the AICTE regulations and could not be read down in light of the Transfer of Property Act. The court also rejected the argument that subsequent compliance with the requirements should lead to approval, as it came after the impugned order and beyond the time schedule.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the writ petition, stating that the petitioner institution could seek re-inspection and consideration for the next academic year.

ORDER :

By consent, this writ petition is taken up for final disposal.

2. The deponent of the affidavit, namely the Principal of Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Technology, Chikkarayapuram, Near Mangadu, Chennai-600069, in the affidavit filed in support of this writ petition, averred as follows:

2.1. The College was established by Sri Muthukumaran Educational Trust in the year 1996 and was given approval by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The College/Institution was started with the sole intention to spread technical knowledge in various disciplines of Engineering and Technology. The institution was initially affiliated to the University of Madras and subsequently affiliated to Anna University, Chennai and it is also approved by All India Council for Technical Education [in short “AICTE”]. The College was established in the year 1996 and prior to that, infrastructural facilities provided have been thoroughly inspected by the Government of Tamil Nadu, AICTE, University of Madras and only after thorough inspection and verification, No Objection Certificate was given by the Government of Tamil Nadu, AICTE and thereafter, University of Madras, who was the affiliating body, granted affiliation.

2.2. The campus of the college spread over 15.76 acres at Chikkarayapuram, near Mangadu, situated at the outskirts of Chennai and the institution is having excellent infrastructure which includes separate blocks for each department with well equipped laboratories and providing wonderful ambiance for the students to learn and develop skills and about 50 staff members are pursuing their Doctorate in various reputed Universities and the faculty and students of College have membership in various professional societies like CSI, IEEE, ASME, MMA, ISTE etc. The students of the College had got placements in reputed companies such as Accenture, Infosys, IBM, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), TATA communications, SANMAR Group, Maruti Suzuki, engineering companies like Athena Health, Charge Bee Technologies and Symantec etc.

2.3. The College, at the time of commencement of its academic activities, was running popular courses like Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering and subsequently number of other courses were started to cater to the needs of the students. The College was subjected to regular inspections every year from 1996 and there has been uninterrupted approval till the academic year 2015-16 i.e., for the past 19 years. Five of the Under Graduate Courses provided by the institution have also been accredited by the National Board of Accreditation from the year 2005.

2.4. AICTE conducted surprise inspection of the College on 04.03.2016 and during the course of inspection, the Inspection Committee took all the relevant documents mainly pertaining to land and physical verification of the boundaries of the College, however, the Inspection Report of the AICTE Committee was not furnished to the College and the same is in utter violation of the principles of natural justice. In the normal course, the College submitted the application for extension of approval for the academic year 2016-17 by means of online through web portal on 31.03.2016 and on 13.04.2016, letter of rejection for not approving the extension for the year 2016-17 was issued by AICTE and it was received through e-mail. The institution, with regard to deficiencies pointed out, made an appeal and thereafter, AICTE deputed a Four Member Expert Committee to inspect the College once again on 25.04.2016 and the focus was reduced to following three points:

(a) Demarcation of Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Technology and other Institutions on Master Plan and on Khasra Plan.

(b) Physical verification at site for land details and boundary demarcation/separation with the Medical and other Institute buildings.

2.5. The Expert Commit

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2016 Supreme(Mad) 1595

Compliance with AICTE regulations regarding land ownership and possession is mandatory and cannot be circumvented by subsequent compliance after the impugned order and beyond the time schedule.

Cases Referred (3)