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| Tuesday, Aug 15, 2006
"Anna varsity must grant affiliation if AICTE approves an institution"
University had been insisting on no-objection certificate from Government
Chennai: Once the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) grants approval for a technical institution, the Anna University is obliged to grant affiliation to it, the Madras High Court has ruled.
A Division Bench comprising Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice V. Dhanapalan passed the order on a batch of writ petitions from various educational institutions.
According to the petitioners, the AICTE, which regulates technical education in the country, granted approval to such institutions after a technical committee deputed by it was satisfied that the institution complied with the norms and standards stipulated by the statutory body.
It then communicates its approval to the Anna University and requests the latter to complete the affiliation process for facilitating admission. However, citing an amendment to the Anna University Act, the university had been insisting on a no-objection certificate from the State Government.
As per the proviso to Section 5(ac) of the amended Act, no college shall be affiliated to the university unless the permission of the Government to establish such college had been obtained and the terms and conditions, if any, of such permission had been complied with. The petitioners maintained that the impugned provision was beyond the legislative competence of the State Government.
Advocate-General R. Viduthalai, however, said since the State had an important role in the establishment of an engineering college in the State it was "perfectly in order and there is no ground for interference" with such a legislation.
Rejecting the view, the Bench cited several rulings of the Supreme Court and said only the AICTE had the authority to grant approval and neither the State Government nor the university had the authority to give approval or to reject any application. "If there is any statutory requirement made under any law by the State Government or the university, it will be repugnant as it is incongruent with the Central Act, namely the AICTE Act," the Bench said.
It then held that the impugned provision of the Anna University Act would not apply to an institution covered by the AICTE Act.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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