Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
Smt. Dhapubai Bstc College vs State Of Rajasthan on 23 October, 2021
Author: Dinesh Mehta
Bench: Dinesh Mehta
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR (1) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13291/2020 Smt. Dhapubai Bstc College, Vikram Nagar, Bomadara Road, Pali Through Its Secretary Gunesh Rawal S/o Varda Rawa, Aged 42 Years, R/o Bomadara Road, Pali
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary, Elementary Education, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The Deputy Secretary, Elementary Education, Jaipur.
3. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan , Bikaner.
4. The Cooridinator, Pre-D.ei.ed. Exam And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education Directorate Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
----Respondents (2) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10007/2021 Surendra Kaur Memorial Teacher Training College, Parental Body Surendra Kaur Memorial Educational And Social Welfare Sanstha, Murabba No. 86, Street No. 3 Dd Road, Village 24 B.b, Tehsil Padampur District Sri-Ganganagar, Through It's Secretary Harvinder Singh S/o Sh. Sarvan Singh Aged About 49 Years, Resident Of 10 Sjm, Tehsil Anoopgarh District Sriganganagar (Raj.)
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Principal Secretary, Department Of Elementary Education, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
3. The Coordinator, Pre-D.ei.ed. Exam - 2021 And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education, Education Directorate Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
4. National Council For Teachers Education, Through Its Member Secretary, Wing-2, Hans Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi.
----Respondents (D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (2 of 8) [CW-13291/2020] (3) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10025/2021 Patel Co-Education Teacher Training College, Parental Body Patel Education And Social Welfare Trust, Kila No. 24, 25 And 64/67, Chak 3Str, Tehsil Gharsana, District Sriganganagar Through Its Secretary Nihal Chand S/o Shri Ranjeet Ram, Aged About 65 Years, Resident Of Nai Mandi, Gharsana, District Sriganganagar (Raj.).
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Principal Secretary, Department Of Elementary Education, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
3. The Coordinator, Pre-D.el.ed. Exam-2021 And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education, Education Directorate Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
4. National Council For Teachers Education, Through Its Member Secretary, Wing-2, Hans Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi.
----Respondents (4) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10126/2021 Mahaveer Education And Social Welfare Trust College, Parental Body Mahaveer Education And Welfare Trust 84/22, Kulpi Road, Tehsil And P.o New Gharsana, District Sriganganagar Through Its Secretary Satpal Swami S/o Sh. Omprakash Swami, Ageda Bout 52 Years, Resident Of 84/22, Kulpi Road, Tehsil And P.o New Gharsana, District Sriganganagar (Raj.).
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Principal Secretary, Department Of Elementary Education, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
3. The Coordinator, Pre-D.el.ed. Exam-2021 And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education, Education Directorate Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
4. National Council For Teachers Education, Through Its Member Secretary, Wing-2, Hans Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi.
(D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (3 of 8) [CW-13291/2020]
----Respondents (5) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10247/2021 Maa Karni Bstc, Village Nal, Tehsil And District Bikaner Parental Body, New Millennium Public Samiti, Village Nal, Tehsil And District Bikaner, Through Its Secretary Sangeeta Vyas W/o Manak Chand Vyas, Aged About 50 Years, R/o Outside Jassusar Gate, Bikaner (Raj.).
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Principal Secretary, Department Of Elementary Education, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
3. The Coordinator, Pre-D.el.ed. Exam 2021 And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education, Education Directorte Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
4. National Council For Teachers Education, Through Its Member Secretary, Wing-2, Hans Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi.
----Respondents (6) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10569/2021 Marwar Shikshak Parikshan Mahavidhyalaya, Parental Body Mayurakshi Shikshak Avam Vikas Sansthan, Magra Punjal, Jodhpur Through Its Secretary Atul Sankhla S/o Shri Sanwal Singh Sankhla, Aged 40 Years, R/o Magra Punjla, Jodhpur.
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary, Department Of Elementary Education, Secretary, Jaipur.
2. The Deputy Secretary, Elementary Education, Jaipur.
3. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
4. The Coordinator, Pre-D-E1.ed. Exam And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education Directorate Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
----Respondents (7) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 12581/2021 Jmk Sikshan Sansthan Parental Body Jai Marudhar Kesari Edu., And Welfare Society, Near Ganesh Temple, Sikhwalon Ka (D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (4 of 8) [CW-13291/2020] Mohalla, Village And Post Office Merta City, Tehsil Merta, District Nagaur Through Its Secretary Anil Kumar S/o Ram Chandra Choudhary, Aged 39 Years, Resident Of Near Ganesh Temple, Sikhwalon Ka Mohalla, Village And Post Office Merta City, Tehsil Merta, District Nagaur.
----Petitioner Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Secretary, Elementary Education, Secretariat, Jaipur.
2. The Deputy Secretary, Elementary Education, Jaipur.
3. The Director, Elementary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
4. The Coordinator, Pre-D-Ei.ed. Exam And Registrar, Education Department And Examinations Rajasthan, Bikaner, Education Directorate Premises, Lalgarh, Bikaner.
5. The Western Regional Committee, National Council For Teachers Education Through Its Under Secretary, Plot No. G-7, Sector 10, Near National Highway Authority, Dwarka, New Delhi.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. C.S. Kotwani
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Pankaj Sharma, AAG with
Mr. Deepak Kumar Chandak
Mr. Vivek Shrimali
Mr. D.D. Chitlangi
JUSTICE DINESH MEHTA
Order
23/10/2021
1. The present batch of writ petitions comprise of the
institutions, which have set up infrastructure for running D.El.Ed.
Course and have submitted their applications for grant of recognition/approval before the National Council for Teacher Education (hereinafter referred to as 'NCTE').
(D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (5 of 8) [CW-13291/2020]
2. The petitioners' applications for recognition, after being duly processed by the NCTE and staff approval by the state government, have been allowed and they are recognized colleges.
3. The petitioners have approached this Court with a grievance that the respondents have not allowed them to take part in the counseling because of the policy decision dated 20.07.2021, issued by the State Government.
4. Mr. Kotwani, learned counsel for the petitioners argued that the state does not have any power to restrain the petitioner-
institution from admitting the students; the state is rather obliged to allow intake of the students, particularly when all the requisite formalities including staff approval by the state and recognition by the NCTE has been granted.
5. He argued that the state's action of denying admission of the students in petitioners-institutions on the basis of policy decision dated 20.07.2021 is arbitrary. While maintaining that the policy decision dated 20.07.2021 is beyond the powers of the state government available under the NCTE Act and National Council for Teacher Education (Recognition, Norms and Procedure) Regulations, 2014 (for short, 'the Regulations of 2014') and arbitrary, learned counsel argued that the same is contrary to a number of judgments of Hon'ble the Supreme Court, in which it has been specifically laid down that the state government does not have any power to conduct inspection and/or deny grant of staff approval because the field is already occupied by an enactment framed by the Central Government, i.e. NCTE Act, 1993 and regulation framed thereunder.
(D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (6 of 8) [CW-13291/2020]
6. Learned counsel relied upon the judgments of Hon'ble the Supreme Court rendered in the cases of State of Maharastra Vs. Sant Dnyaneshwar Shikshan Shastra Mahavidyala & Ors. [(2006) 9 SCC 1] and State of Rajasthan Vs. LBS B.Ed. College & Ors.
[(2016) 16 SCC 110] and various other judgments in order to substantiate his agreement that it has been consistent view of Hon'ble the Supreme Court that the power to legislate and power to grant recognition solely vests in the Central Government/NCTE and the state has only to perform the role assigned under the Regulations of 2014.
7. Learned counsel submitted that the state itself has permitted the petitioners to admit the students for the academic session 2019-20, though under the orders of this Court, however, this time, the petitioners have not been allowed to take part in the counseling in the guise of the policy decision dated 20.07.2021.
8. Mr. Pankaj Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General, submitted that state's NOC is mandatory, as has been provided under Regulation No.5(3) of the Regulations of 2014 and since there are already sufficient number of institutions, state can very well restrict number of institutions taking part in the counseling.
9. Indisputably the petitioners are recognised institutions which were having due NOC and staff approval duly granted by the state government. Such being the position, the state cannot put an embargo upon petitioners' right of running teacher education programme. The denial of admission to the students on the basis of policy decision dated 20.07.2021 is clearly arbitrary. The policy decision dated 20.07.2021, even if presumed to be valid, cannot (D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (7 of 8) [CW-13291/2020] be applied to the petitioners institutions which have been granted recognition much before the policy decision came into being.
10. In the opinion of this Court, the petitioners institutions, which are having recognition by NCTE, staff approval from the state, cannot be denied admission of the students merely because of the fortuitous circumstance that under some misconception, the petitioners decided to apply for grant of NOC.
11. Petitioners' case stands at a much better footing than the bunch of cases decided by this Court today, being S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.2359/2021 (Surender Kaur Memorial College of Higher Education Vs. State & Ors.).
12. In view of what has been noticed above and following the reasoning given in the judgment of even date in a batch of writ petitions led by S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.2359/2021 (Surender Kaur Memorial College of Higher Education Vs. State & Ors.), the present writ petitions are allowed.
13. The respondent state/Director, Education is directed to permit the petitioners institutions to take part in the counseling to be conducted for the admission of the students in D.El. Ed. Course for academic year 2021-22 and onwards.
14. The stay applications also stand disposed of accordingly.
15. At this stage, Mr. Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General submitted that there are many irregularities or deficiencies in the institutions and thus some check should be allowed to be kept by the state.
16. In the opinion of this Court, even if the state has found certain deficiencies or lack of facilities, it is required of the state government to intimate the NCTE in this regard. This Court is sure that the NCTE will take appropriate action against such institution (D.B. SAW/149/2021 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders) (Downloaded on 26/10/2021 at 09:04:40 PM) (8 of 8) [CW-13291/2020] in accordance with law. But, on the pretext of the discrepancies, the state, at its own, cannot deny the petitioners their right to carry on the courses.
(DINESH MEHTA),J 32,43-46,48,54-skm/-
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