Karnataka High Court
Laxmibai Kamthane B Ed College vs State Represent By on 13 February, 2024
Author: B.M.Shyam Prasad
Bench: B.M.Shyam Prasad
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB
WA No.200185 of 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA,
KALABURAGI BENCH
DATED THIS THE 13TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2024
PRESENT
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B.M.SHYAM PRASAD
AND
THE HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI
WRIT APPEAL NO.200185 OF 2023 (EDN-RES)
BETWEEN:
SMT. LAXMIBAI KAMTHANE B.ED COLLEGE
VIDYA NAGAR, BIDAR
REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL
DILIPKUMAR KAMTHANE
S/O VAIJINATHRAO KAMTHANE
AGED: 50 YEARS
OCC: PRINCIPAL
LK B.ED, BIDAR
...APPELLANT
(BY SRI RAVI B. PATIL, ADVOCATE)
Digitally signed AND:
by SWETA
KULKARNI
Location: 1. STATE REPRESENT BY
HIGH COURT
OF ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY
KARNATAKA DEPT. OF HIGHER EDUCATION
M.S. BUILDING 6TH FLOOR
BENGALURU - 560 001.
2. VICE CHANCELLOR
GULBARGA UNIVERSITY
KALABURAGI - 585 106.
3. THE REGISTRAR
GULBARGA UNIVERSITY
KALABURAGI 585 106.
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB
WA No.200185 of 2023
4. THE REGISTRAR EVALUATION
GULBARGA UNIVERSITY
KALABURAGI 585 106.
...RESPONDENTS
(BY SMT. MAYA T.R., HCGP FOR R1;
SRI SUDARSHAN M., ADVOCATE FOR R2 TO R4)
THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED UNDER SECTION 4 OF THE
KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ACT, 1971, PRAYING TO SET ASIDE
THE IMPUGNED ORDER OF OPERATIVE PORTION OF PARA
NO.III PASSED IN WRIT PETITION NO.201868 OF 2023 (EDN-
RES) DATED 14-07-2023 AND PLEASE TO ALLOW THE WRIT
PETITION FILED BY THE PETITIONER/APPELLANT AND PLEASE
TO ISSUE A WRIT OF MANDAMUS DIRECTING THE
RESPONDENTS TO CONSIDER THE REPRESENTATIONS VIDE
ANNEXURE-M, M1 & M2 DATED 11-05-2023, 23-06-2023 AND
28-06-2023.
THIS WRIT APPEAL COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY
HEARING THIS DAY B.M.SHYAM PRASAD J., DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
JUDGMENT
The appellant is a recognized institution imparting education in B.Ed, and the appellant has approached the writ Court in W.P.No.201868/2023 for directions to the authorities viz., the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar, Gulbarga University, Kalaburagi, amongst others, to consider its representations submitted in the months of May -3- NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 and June, 2023. The writ Court has disposed of this writ petition with directions which read as under:
"i. The reliefs to the students of the petitioner-college are granted by directing respondent No.3/University to make available Centers for them to take up their examinations commencing from 20.07.2023 by collecting necessary fees from those students without collecting any fine.
ii. Respondent No.3/University to make necessary arrangements for transfer of all the students of the petitioner-College to Colleges as close to the petitioner- College as possible within a period of thirty days after the end of the examinations."
The appellant [the Institution] is aggrieved by these directions, and the refusal to issue directions to consider its representations. Sri Ravi B. Patil, and Sri Sudarshan M., the learned counsel for the institution and the University respectively, and Smt. Maya T.R., the learned High Court -4- NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 Government Pleader for the State Authorities, are heard for the final disposal of the appeal.
2. Sri Ravi B. Patil submits that the dispute as its genesis in the following circumstances.
[a] The University has initiated action against the Institution for cancellation of affiliation for the academic year 2021-22, but after an enquiry the affiliation is granted on 28.07.2022. In the month of May 2022, the University has issued notification inviting applications for grant of affiliation for the subsequent academic year, and the institution has filed its application. This application is not considered, and this is the immediate cause for the writ petition. [b] The Institution has admitted students for B.Ed. Course for the academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23 and this course is a two-years course. The allegation against the Institution, leading to this petition, is that it has encouraged its students to indulge in malpractices during examinations and insofar as the -5- NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 academic year 2022-23 it is stated that a FIR is also launched.
[c] The Institute has not admitted any student for the academic year 2023-24 and that generally no examination will be conducted for the students for the academic year 2021-22 and 2022-23 until the months October - November 2024.
3. However, it transpires from the records now placed on record that the petitioner's application for affiliation has not been considered, but proceedings are initiated under Section 63 of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000 [for short, 'the Act'] for cancellation/withdrawal of affiliation. It is submitted that the Syndicate as contemplated under Section 63(5) of the Act has transmitted its recommendation for cancellation of the affiliation to its Academic Council and even the Academic Council has opined that there must be cancellation, and as such, after the necessary resolution contemplated under Section 63(7) of the Act, the Registrar of -6- NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 the University has forwarded the proposal to the Government for appropriate decision, and this decision is still awaited.
4. This Court must observe that in the meanwhile, for certain reasons as recorded in notice dated 29.11.2023, the Government has asked for certain clarifications proposing to initiate proceedings as contemplated under Section 8 of the Act and in response thereto, the University has written to the State Government stating that as proceedings under Section 63 of the Act are pending consideration a separate action under Section 8 of the Act may not be necessary. Pursuant to the writ Court's order, the students admitted with the Institution for the academic year 2022-23 and who had to take examination for the months of December 2023 and January 2024, have been assigned to five other institutions at the rate of twenty students per institution and the students have given their examinations and awaiting results.
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023
5. The Institution's grievance as against the writ Court's order must necessarily be considered in these circumstances and in the light of the provisions of Section 63 of the Act, which read as under:
"63. Withdrawal of affiliation.- (1) The rights conferred on a college by affiliation, either temporary or permanent, may be withdrawn in whole or in part or modified, if the college has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this Act or the college has failed to comply with any of the conditions of the affiliation or the college is conducted in a manner prejudicial to the interest of the education.
(2) A motion for the withdrawal or the modification of such rights shall be initiated only in the Syndicate. Any member of the Syndicate, including ex-officio member who intends to move such a motion shall give a notice of it in writing setting out the grounds on which such a motion is made.
(3) Before taking the said motion into consideration, the Syndicate shall send a copy of the said notice to the principal of the college concerned specifically intimating that any -8- NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 representation in writing on the motion shall be submitted by the college within a period to be specified in such intimation and the same will be considered by the Syndicate.
(4) The period so specified in sub-section (3) may if so expedient be extended by the Syndicate upto a reasonable time.
(5) On receipt of the representation or on the expiry of the period referred to in the preceding sub-sections, the Syndicate after considering the notice of motion, the grounds set out therein and the representation received thereon and after such inspection by a Committee constituted and authorised by it in this behalf and after such further enquiry as may appear to it to be necessary pass a resolution regarding the reasons therefor and shall transmit it to the Academic Council.
(6) On receipt of the report under sub-section (5), the Academic Council shall, after such further enquiry, if any as may appear to it to be necessary, record its opinion and refer back to the Syndicate.-9-
NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 (7) The Syndicate after considering the resolution of the Academic Council, shall pass a final resolution recommending the withdrawal of affiliation. Such a resolution shall not be deemed to have been passed by the Syndicate unless it has obtained the support of two third of the members present at a meeting.
(8) The Registrar shall submit the proposal with all the documents including the notice of motion, the reply of the college, resolutions of the Syndicate and the Academic Council to the State Government for taking decision.
(9) The State Government after such further enquiry, as may appear to it to be necessary may direct the University to withdraw the affiliation in whole or in part or as modified and as applicable from a particular academic year or to reject the proposal.
(10) The University shall on receipt of such direction pass formal order in accordance with such direction.
(11) The students of a college, the affiliation of which has been withdrawn in whole or in part shall be accommodated in the nearby colleges by
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 the University by increasing the intake in respect of particular course of study to the extent of such students to be accommodated. All the documents in respect of such students shall be transferred from the college in respect of which the affiliation has been withdrawn to the college to which they are transferred by the University."
This Court must conclude that the indisputable position that emergences from a reading of these provisions is that the students from an institution for which affiliation has been withdrawn either in whole or in part, must be accommodated in nearby colleges on terms as found in Section 68 (11) of the Act and this exercise must necessarily be after a decision is taken on withdrawal or cancellation of affiliation.
6. It is obvious from the circumstances that are discussed above, the decision to accommodate students in alternative institutions, which must essentially be under Section 63(9) of the Act, is yet to be taken. This Court must opine that when this decision is yet to be taken, an arrangement to accommodate the students in other
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 Institutions cannot be permitted, especially without directions to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to ensure that intake capacity in these other institutions are increased based on the requirements according to the statute and the regulations. Therefore, the writ Court's order must fail on two accounts viz., enabling a consequence without a decision as contemplated under Section 63(9) and to bring about a consequence without directions to ensure that the requirements under the Act.
7. The Government, which is required to consider all the documents that are sent as contemplated under Section 63(8), must take a decision without giving room for further precipitation, and this Court is of the considered view that the decision in this regard cannot be delayed and a decision must be taken expeditiously and in a manner that will not prejudice the interest of the students. This decision must be taken, at the earliest, and in the meanwhile the students cannot be permitted to study in other institutions where they have been accommodated as it is with due regard to the capacity of such institutions. Hence, the following:
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 ORDER [i] The writ Court's impugned order dated 14.07.2023 is modified allowing the appeal in part directing the State Government [the first respondent] to consider the report that is filed by the Registrar of the University under Section 63(8) of the State Universities Act, 2000 as expeditiously as possible but on or before 30.04.2024.
[ii] The students who have been temporarily accommodated to five institutions shall be permitted to attend course with the Institution, and the Institution shall ensure that the classes and the other curricular activities are extended to these students without any reason for complaint.
[iii] The University is directed to ensure to pass all such orders and directions as would be necessary to ensure that the students
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NC: 2024:KHC-K:1479-DB WA No.200185 of 2023 admitted with the institution for the academic year 2022-23 continues their studies with the institution as now directed.
Sd/-
JUDGE Sd/-
JUDGE BL List No.: 1 Sl No.: 12 Ct;Vk