HC directs varsity to consider plea for affiliation on merits

Updated on: Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Madras High Court bench here directed the Anna University of Technology to consider the representation of an Engineering College, run by a Trust in which Union Minister M.K.Alagiri is a trustee,for affiliation based on merits and as per the university's statutes.

Disposing of an appeal filed by AUT Registrar E.B.Perumal Pillai,a pision Bench of Justice P.Jyothimani and Justice M M Sundresh said the University could not give automatic affiliation just because All India council for Technical education had given the approval.University could not be asked to act against its own statutes.

However, the Daya Engineering College, run by M K Alagiri Educational Trust, had pointed out that affiliation had been given to two other colleges which were similarly placed,and they were being discriminated against.

The college had also claimed that they had rectified the three deficiencies, pointed out by the AUT,viz.transport, books in library and cafetaria near classroom.

The Judges said though counselling was over, AUT could consider the application for affiliation, given on July 25,2011 within two weeks from the academic year 2011-12.

Last week, the high court bench had directed the state government to include the college in the list of institutions authorised to admit students in the single window counselling for 2011-12 academic year conducted by the AUT.

The court passed the order on a petition by the college authorities alleging that state officials were 'deliberately' refusing permission for participating in the counselling citing some 'trivial' defects since Alagiri was one of the trustees.

The University in its appeal said the single judge had erred in holding that the role of the University in respect of Professional colleges in the matter of grant of affiliation was "a matter of course".

The Registrar said this observation of the single judge amounted to "indirectly compelling the University to grant affiliation in a hurried manner."

"The law is settled that no college could claim affiliation as a matter of right. It is only for the university, in its discretion, to grant affiliation or not."

The court could not abrogate the powers to grant affiliation nor can it direct the university to grant affiliation. An act which the statutory authority has to do cannot be done by the court which must exercise restraint, the Registrar said.

The Registrar also took exception to another observation that the university had no role to play with regard to allegations that the college had not obtained necessary permission from the competent authority for conversion of lands.

However, the bench observed that the AUT itself had not made it (land) an issue.It had only three objections and that had been rectified by the college,theJ udges said.

HC directs varsity to consider plea for affiliation on merits

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