The court upheld the principle of promissory estoppel and directed the State Government and BPUT to fulfill their obligations under the UGC's XIth Plan Guidelines for granting autonomous status to the petitioner College.

JUDGMENT

S.C.PARIJA, J. This writ petition has been filed challenging the inaction of the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT for short) in not implementing the decision of the University Grant Commission (UGC for short), granting autonomous status to the petitioner College and not taking necessary action in that regard. The petitioner also assails the decision of the State Government not to accord autonomous status to the petitioner College.

2. The brief facts as detailed in the writ petition is that the UGC-opposite party no.3 under its XIth Plan Guidelines (Annexure-1), prepared a Scheme of Autonomous College to increase the number of autonomous colleges in the country, with a target to make 10% of eligible colleges autonomous by the end of XIth Plan period i.e., 20072012. In terms of the said guidelines of UGC, the petitioner College submitted its proposal for autonomous status from the academic session 2010-11, in the prescribed format, duly signed and recommended by the Registrar, BPUT, to the Secretary, UGC, vide its letter dated 18.1.2010 (Annexure-2).

3. On receipt of the proposal from the petitioner College for grant of autonomous status, the UGC vide its letters dated 23.4.2010 intimated BPUT and the State Government that the UGC has constituted an Expert Committee consisting of three members to evaluate the performance and academic attainments for conferment of autonomous status to the petitioner College. Accordingly, both BPUT and the State Government were requested to nominate their respective nominee to be members of the Expert Committee. In the said letters of the UGC addressed to BPUT and the State Government it was clearly mentioned that if the State Government fails to provide its nominee within 90 days after issued of letter, the Export Committee may go ahead with the process to evaluate the performance and academic attainments for conferment of autonomous status to the petitioner College. Copy of the said letters were marked to the petitioner College with the request to pursue the matter with the State Government, as per Annexure-3 and 4 to the writ petition.

4. As per the State Government did not nominate its nominee to the Expert Committee, the UGC vide its letter dated 25.8.2010 again requested the State Government to nominate its nominee for the Expert Committee and to instruct the nominee to attend and visit the petitioner College from 30.8.2010 to 01.9.2010, as per Annexure-5 to the writ petition. The petitioner College by letter dated 27.8.2010 (Annexure-6) also requested the State Government to nominate its representative for the Expert Committee constituted by the UGC for inspection of the petitioner College to be conducted on 30.8.2010. Ultimately by letter dated 8.9.2010 (Annexure-7), the State Government in the Industries Department intimated the UGC that Sri D.K. Mallick, Joint Director (Academic), Office of the DTE & T, Orissa , Cuttack is nominated as the State Government nominee to the Expert Committee constituted by the UGC, to evaluate the performance and academic attainments for conferment of fresh autonomous status to the petitioner College.

5. The State Government having failed to nominate its nominee in time, the Expert Committee of the UGC consisting of the nominee of BPUT and others inspected the petitioner College from 30.8.2010 to 01.9.2010 and submitted its detailed report, as per Annexure-8 to the writ petition, recommending that the petitioner College be made autonomous for a period of six years from 2011-12 to 2016-17, so that it grows better under the autonomous structure than the prevailing situation where the academic health is mainly constrained due to practical problems with the affiliating University, often resulting in delaying of all activities as well as results. Basing on the recommendation of the Expert Committee, the UGC vide its letter dated 15.10.2010 (Annexure-9) agreed to confer autonomy to the petitioner College, which was communicated to all concerned,