1

HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT

JAMMU

OWP No. 1275/2014

CMA No. 1736/2014

c/w

OWP No. 1395/2014

CMA No. 1886/2014

Date of Decision: 04.12.2014

Atman College of Education &ors. v. University of Jammu & ors.

Shri Sai Shyam College of Education v. University of Jammu & ors.

Coram:

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Janak Raj Kotwal-Judge

Appearing counsel:

For petitioner(s):

Mr. Sunil Sethi, Sr. Advocate with

Mr. Mohsin Bhat, Advocate

For respondent(s):

Mr. W. S. Nargal, Advocate

(i) Whether to be reported in

Press, Journal/Media:

Yes/No

(ii) Whether to be reported in

Journal/Digest:

Yes/No

OWP No. 1275/2014

1. Petitioners are private/non-Government B. Ed. Colleges

affiliated with the University of Jammu, respondent No.

1 (for short the University). They have been allowed

different intake of students. Faced with the evil of non-

attendance of students in the B. Ed. Colleges, the

University by virtue of a decision taken in the 6^th

meeting of its College Development Council (CDC),

respondent No. 4, held on 03.07.2014 has devised a

formula to reduce the intake seats of these colleges for

the session 2014-2015 proportionate to the level of

non-attendance

noticed

in

the

course

of

two

2

inspections held during the previous session. Pursuant

to the said decision and formula, the intake of students

in the petitioner-colleges among some other B.Ed.

colleges for the session 2014-15 has been considerably

reduced. According to the petitioners, the University

has issued a list of as many as 76 colleges for

participating in centralized counseling for admission

showing their sanctioned and reduced intake for the

session 2014-15. The sanctioned intake and the reduced

intake of the 16 colleges, who are the petitioners, is

culled out and tabulated in para 8 of the petition as

follows:

S. No. Petitioner

Sanction intake

Seats

Reduced

after

impugned

decision.

1

Petitioner No. 1

310

88

2.

Petitioner No.2

310

88

3.

Petitioner No. 3

310

88

4.

Petitioner No. 4

310

108

5.

Petitioner No. 5

280

88

6.

Petitioner No. 6

310

108

7.

Petitioner No. 7

310

88

8.

Petitioner No. 8

310

88

9.

Petitioner No. 9

310

108

10.

Petitioner No. 10

210

88

11.

Petitioner No. 11

310

108

12.

Petitioner No. 12

150

88

13.

Petitioner No. 13

170

88

14.

Petitioner No. 14

190

88

15.

Petitioner No. 15

310

88

16.

Petitioner No. 16

250

88

2.

Feeling aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the

reduction in their intake seats for the session 2014-15,

petitioners have filed this writ petition under Article

3

226 of the Constitution of India read with section 103

of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir seeking

appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of

certiorari to quash the decision/formula devised for

reducing the intake seats and the list issued by the

University so far as it reduces intake seats of the

petitioner-colleges for the session 2014-15. Besides,

the petitioners seek writ, order or direction in the

nature of mandamus commending the respondents to

allocate them the students for the session 2014-15 as

per their sanctioned intake.

3.

I have heard learned counsel for the parties and

pursed the record on the file and that produced by

Mr. W. S. Nargal, learned counsel for the respondents.

4.

Petitioner-colleges have assailed the reduction in

intake mainly on the ground that the decision is totally

illegal, arbitrary and violates the fundamental right of

the petitioners. It is contended that before taking the

decision to reduce the intake and issuing the

impugned list, respondents were required to afford

each petitioner reasonable opportunity of being heard

by issuing show cause notice asking them to explain

their position. However, neither a