HC rejects HRD Ministry's appeal on unversity's new campus issue

Updated on: Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Madras High Court dismissed HRD Ministry's appeal on deemed university to follow the University Grants Commission's new guidelines.

A bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam in their recent order said that as noticed by the single bench, though Section 26(3) of the UGC Act conferred power to make a regulation, including with retrospective effect, no retrospective effect should be given to any regulation so as to prejudicially affect the interest of any person to whom it may be applicable.

The Bench dismissed an appeal by the Human Resources Development Ministry challenging the earlier order on a petition by SRM University (Deemed) near here directing the Ministry to consider its application in the light of the UGC's recommendations of September 2009 to the Centre clearing the proposal.

The Ministry claimed that the earlier HC order was wrong in directing the universitys application to be considered under the old guidelines after the same had been uperseded by the 2010 regulations.

The university, however, submitted that grave prejudice was caused to it on account of the ministry's direction to apply afresh under the 2010 regulations as the news rules came into force during the pendency of its proposal.

The university said the power under the regulation itself was prospective and could not prejudice anyone.

The Bench pointed out that from a conjoint reading of Sections 25(3) (Power to make rules) and 26(3) and other sections of Regulations, it could be safely concluded that the 2010 Regulations would have 'prospective application and could not be stated to be retroactive'.

This, it said, was because power to make regulations did not empower the authority to give retrospective effect to the regulation, so as to prejudicially affect the interest of any person to whom the regulation applied.

Further, it was alternatively contended that the concept of prejudice would override even if the application was pending or in process, the judges held.

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