HC stays AICTE order withdrawing approval for eng courses

Though AICTE granted approval for engineering courses conducted by this institution for academic year 2012-13,almost at the same time,it also withdrew the approval for the courses for the academic year 2011-12.

“This has created an anomalous situation for the petitioner. We find that the petitioner has succeeded in establishing a case for interim relief,” the judges observed.

“If no relief was granted,the petitioner will not be able to admit students during year 2012-13 as per the approval granted in May 2012 to the institution as the online process will close shortly,” the bench said in its order last week.

The court also accepted a statement of the petitioner assuring that it had removed deficiencies in infrastructure pointed out by AICTE for withdrawing approval for engineering courses for academic year 2011-12.

The institution also gave an undertaking to the Court that it would appoint requisite number of qualified Associate Professors and Professors within a period of two months.

The judges,however,clarified that this interim order is confined to the two colleges of the petitioner one running degree engineering course and the other operating diploma engineering course. As far as the other colleges (run by the petitioner) are concerned,it would be open to the petitioner to file separate petitions.

The judges said it will be open to AICTE to nominate its inspection team/expert committee to visit the degree and diploma engineering colleges of the petitioner-institution for verifying its claim about the removal of deficiencies stated in the impugned order of June 21.

While withdrawing approval for engineering courses,AICTE pointed out deficiencies saying the colleges did not have barrier free environment as well as toilets for the physically challenged.

AICTE further said that the colleges did not have safety provisions for fire and other calamities. Besides,the ratio of personal computers to the students in the colleges was also not adequate. Also,the qualifications of faculty members were

not as per AICTE norms and more lab equipment needed to be purchased.

The petitioner contended that it had removed the deficiencies after the visit of AICTE’s team on June 6 and had provided barrier-free environment and toilets for physically handicapped. Safety provisions for fire and other calamities were also in place. In the last three weeks,the colleges had purchased 120 new personal computers and also lab equipment.

The petitioner said that since the approval was given in May for the year 2012-13 and the same is not cancelled or withdrawn,the respondents and particularly the Director of Technical Education is not justified in not displaying the degree and diploma engineering colleges run by the institution on the government website for admission process for the year 2012-13 which has already started and for which July 13 was the last date for the students to make online applications.

However,AICTE submitted that when the approval granted for the academic year 2011-12 had been withdrawn,by necessary implication,the extension of approval granted for the current academic year 2012-13 would not survive.