Unaided Engineering Colleges ... vs Education & Ors
2011 Latest Caselaw 251 Bom

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       IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY




                                                
                    CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION




                                               
                WRIT PETITION NO.  10925 OF 2011


      The Association of Management of



                                          
      Unaided Engineering Colleges (Mah.) 
                           ig                        ..  Petitioner.

           versus
                         
      All India Council for Technical

      Education & Ors.                               ..  Respondents.
        

                                        .....
     



      Mr. Rajeev Kumar with Mr. Kapil Moye i/by Mr. Sandeep R.

                 Waghmare for the Petitioner.





      Mr. Ashutosh Kumbhkoni with Mr. Rui Rodrigues

                 for Respondent No. 1.
                                   ......





                          CORAM :  DR.D.Y.CHANDRACHUD &
                                     A. A. SAYED, JJ.

20 DECEMBER 2011.

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ORAL JUDGMENT : (PER DR.D.Y.CHANDRACHUD, J.

In these proceedings under Article 226 of the

Constitution the Petitioner seeks to challenge a stipulation

contained in Appendix 10 of the Approval of Process Hand

Book of the All India Council for Technical Education for the

Academic Year 2012-2013. The stipulation provides for a

mandatory subscription to e-Journals as a condition for the

grant of approval. The challenge of the Petitioner to this

stipulation is on the following grounds :

(i) The All India Council for Technical Education has

only recommendatory powers under Section 10 of

the All India Council for Technical Education Act,

1987;

(ii) The stipulation that Colleges must purchase e-

Journals is likely to affect the fee structure;

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(iii) Colleges have to obtain affiliation from the State

University under The Maharashtra Universities Act,

1994 from time to time and the Board of Studies

requires library facilities as a condition for

affiliation.

2. The First Respondent has filed an affidavit of its

Regional Officer in reply. In the affidavit it has been stated

that for the forthcoming academic session 2012-2013, uploading

of the Approval Process Hand book on the web portal of

AICTE was carried out and made effective from 6 October 2011.

According to the approval process as amended till date, each

institute has to opt from different 'bouquets' of e-journals

available for its class. The requirement to have a particular

bouquet of e-journals relevant to the discipline was the

outcome of a comprehensive expert exercise conducted by a

high powered committee consisting of five Vice Chancellors and

three Directors, cutting across disciplines. The Council at a

meeting held on 13 September 2011 accepted the Report which

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culminated in the policy decision reflected in Appendix 10 of

the Approval Process Handbook. The AICTE has clarified that

in order to ensure that the bouquets of e-Journals are available

on competitive terms to institutions, AICTE conducted

negotiations on the best possible rates which have the option

of unlimited download for unlimited number of users for

member institutions. However, the AICTE has not made it

compulsory that individual institutions should subscribe to

e-Journals from a particular vendor prescribed by AICTE or at

a price prescribed by AICTE. The only requirement is that the

institution has to be a subscriber for unlimited downloads for

unlimited number of users amongst the options available from

a specific programme.

3. Counsel appearing on behalf of the First

Respondent has, during the course of submissions, reiterated

what is stated in the affidavit and submitted that the AICTE

has not transgressed the limitations on its powers under the

Act.

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4. The All India Council for Technical Education Act,

1987 is an Act to provide for the establishment of an All India

Council for Technical Education with a view to the proper

planning and co-ordinated development of the technical

education system throughout the country, the promotion of

qualitative improvements of such education in relation to

planned quantitative growth and the regulation and proper

maintenance of norms and standards in the technical education

system and for matters connected therewith. Section 10 of

the Act provides that it shall be the duty of the Council to

take all such steps as it may think fit for ensuring co-ordinated

and integrated development of technical education and

maintenance of standards for the purposes of performing its

functions under the Act. The Council may, inter alia, "promote

innovations research and development in established and new

technologies, generation, adoption and adaptation of new

technologies to meet developmental requirements and for

overall improvement of educational processes." (clause d)

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Parliament has conferred wide powers on the Council to take

all such steps as it may think fit to ensure co-ordinated and

integrated development of technical education and maintenance

of standards. Information technology is an indispensable

source of knowledge in the contemporary age. The All India

Council for Technical Education as an expert body subscribes to

the view that institutions must, with a view to ensuring quality

education provide access to e-Journals. The decision of the

Counsel as an expert body, cannot be questioned under Article

226 of the Constitution. The power of the Council under

Section 10 is not recommendatory. Parliament having

conferred a duty upon the Council, the Council must

necessarily have the mandate to enforce its obligations under

the Act. The Court is informed that initially, AICTE made it

mandatory for institutions to purchase conventional hard copies

of Journals. Presently the purchase of hard copies has been

made "desirable" and therefore optional, and the saving which

is generated in not being required to purchase hard copies of

Journals as a mandatory requirement can well be utilised for

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purchasing e-Journals. Moreover, it has been clarified on

affidavit as well as before the Court that AICTE does not

mandate that institutions purchase e-Journals from a particular

vendor or at a particular price. Institutions have been left, if

they so desire, to negotiate even better terms than those which

were negotiated by AICTE. Institutions are at liberty to choose

vendors who offer them the most competitive price. Counsel

appearing on behalf of the AICTE has further stated before the

Court that AICTE has decided not to decline renewal of

approvals for academic year 2012-2013, for non-compliance of

the requirement but, it is expected that all institutions must

fulfill the requirement in due course. However, it has been

stated that AICTE will not grant permission for additional

courses or enhancement of intake capacity unless the

requirement is complied with. We are of the view that there

is no merit in the submission that AICTE has acted ultra vires

its powers or that, the direction will amount to an insuperable

financial burden on institutions.

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5. The Petition is accordingly disposed of in the

aforesaid terms. There shall be no order as to costs.

(Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J.)

(A. A. Sayed, J.)