IMPORTANT POINT
The duty of the State Government to consider fundamental issues in the conversion of colleges into full-fledged Government Colleges and the violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

JUDGMENT

1. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioners seeking to quash the impugned order dated 20.10.2018 passed by the first respondent and to direct the respondents to allow the petitioners' function till the handing over and taking over of Mayai Lambi College, Yumnam Huridrom and Thambal Marik College, Oinam are completed.

2. The case of the petitioners is that they are the Governing Bodies of two Colleges, namely, Mayai Lambi Collge, Yumnam Huridrom and Thambal Marik College, Oinam, which have been taken over and converted into full-fledged Government Colleges under the Department of Higher Education, Government of Manipur vide order dated 28.6.2018. Pursuant to the said Colleges being converted into Government Colleges, the petitioners stood abolished. Aggrieved by the order dated 28.6.2018, the petitioners have filed W.P.(C) No.608 of 2018 and by the order dated 16.7.2018, the said writ petition was disposed of by granting liberty to the petitioners to submit a representation to the State Government.

3. In compliance with the order, the petitioners have submitted a representation on 25.7.2018 to the Commissioner (Hr. & Tech. Education) requesting to allow them to function till the completion of all formalities of handing over and taking over of the College assets and properties and also to verify the list of teaching and non-teaching staff submitted by the Governing Bodies. Since the first respondent failed to consider the representation, the petitioners have filed W.P.(C) No.858 of 2018.

4. By the order dated 14.09.2018, W.P.(C) No.858 of 2018 came to be disposed of by directing the first respondent to consider and dispose of the representation of the petitioners within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. Since the order of this Court dated 14.9.2018 has not been complied with, the petitioners have filed Contempt Case No.177 of 2018 and pending Contempt Case, the first respondent passed the impugned order dated 20.10.2018 rejecting the representation of the petitioners. Challenging the same, the petitioners have filed the present writ petition.

5. Resisting the writ petition, the 9th respondent filed affidavit-in-opposition stating that while disposing of W.P.(C) No.608 of 2018, this Court clearly expressed the view that once the Government has taken a decision to take over the Colleges and convert these Colleges into full-fledged Government Colleges, normally the Governing Body would rendered non-functional, as it would be the State Government who would look after the affairs and administration of the Colleges. It is stated that it is not mandatory to follow handing over and taking over and it is the Government to decide in the circumstances. In the present case also, six Government Aided Colleges have been taken over by the Government and out of six, only the present petitioners have grievances against the order dated 28.6.2018. The grievances of the Governing Body to remain in office is only to manipulate the lists of teaching and non-teaching staff of the College. The representation of the petitioners was rejected by the competent authority for the reasons stated in the order dated 20.10.2018. Hence, prayed for dismissal of the writ petition.

6. Assailing the impugned order, Mr.D.Julius Riamei, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted when the petitioners filed Contempt Case No.177 of 2018 for non-compliance of the order dated 14.9.2018 and on the issuance of legal notice dated 25.10.2018 to the respondents, the impugned order rejecting of the representation of the petitioner came to be passed back-dating as 20.10.2018 in order to avoid the contempt proceedings. He would submit that the necessity of handing over and taking over is to create transparency in the conversion of the Colleges and most importantly to ensure that all the assets and properties, bank accounts and teaching and non-teaching staff of the Colleges are handed over to the Government free of liabilities a