Aniket Gupta And Ors vs The Minister The Higher And ...
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                                                                              7 - WP 8028 OF 2021.doc

                                IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
          Digitally signed by
KANCHAN
                                         WRIT PETITION NO. 8028 OF 2021
          KANCHAN VINOD
VINOD     MAYEKAR
          Date: 2021.11.27
MAYEKAR   15:00:06 +0530



                 Aniket Gupta & Ors.                                      ..... Petitioners

                                VERSUS

                 The Minister,
                 The Higher and Technical Education
                 Department, Mumbai & Ors.                                ..... Respondents

                 Ms.Surabhi            Vadhavkar,   i/b.   Mr.Sachin   Dhakephalkar      for    the
                 Petitioners.

                 Mr.N.K.Rajpurohit, A.G.P. for the State - Respondent nos. 1, 2 and 4.

                                                  CORAM: R. D. DHANUKA AND
                                                         ABHAY AHUJA, JJ.

DATE : 26th NOVEMBER, 2021

P.C:-

By this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of

India, the petitioners have prayed for a writ of certiorari for quashing

and setting aside the Government Resolution dated 16th March, 2020

insofar as and to the extent it declares and directs that from the

academic year 2021-22 the results of exams held for GMAT, MAT,

ATMA and XAT shall not be considered and be excluded from the

purview of eligibility criteria for seeking admission to MMS/MBA

courses under Rule 10(2)(a) of the Maharashtra Unaided Private KVM

7 - WP 8028 OF 2021.doc Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission to the

Full Time Professional Undergraduate Technical Courses) Rules, 2017.

2. The petitioners also seek an order and direction to consider the

results of Entrance Exam of GMAT, MAT, ATMA and XAT for further

courses of MMS/MBA during the academic year 2021-2022 and also to

allow the petitioners to take part in admission process for MMS/MBA

courses.

3. The grievance of the petitioners is that the State Common

Entrance Test Cell issued notice for MBA/MMS for the academic year

2021-22 only on 9th November, 2021 prescribing eligibility criteria for

various types of candidature for admission. She submits that the

petitioners had already appeared for the MAT course in the month of

February 2021 and thus the petitioners would be seriously prejudiced if

the respondent no.3 is allowed to amend the eligibility criteria.

4. Learned counsel invited our attention to the judgment delivered

by this Court on 11th December, 2020 in case of Amol Jagdish

Baviskar & Ors. vs. The Minister, The Higher and Technical

Education Department Mumbai & Ors. in Writ Petition (St) KVM

7 - WP 8028 OF 2021.doc No.96887 of 2020 and would submit that in the operative part of the

said judgment, the Division Bench of this Court had kept it open that

the Government circular dated 16th March, 2020 may operate from the

next academic year 2021-22.

5. Mr.Rajpurohit, learned A.G.P. for the respondent nos. 1, 2 and 4

on the other hand submits that the Government Resolution dated 16 th

March, 2020 annexed at Ex.A to the petition clearly provided that the

particular eligibility criteria would apply w.e.f. the academic year

2020-21 onwards in the State of Maharashtra. The petitioners ought to

have challenged the said Government Resolution issued on 16th March,

2020 immediately and not at this stage.

6. Insofar as the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in

case of Amol Jagdish Baviskar & Ors. (supra) is concerned, a perusal

of the said judgment indicates that the controversy between the parties

before this Court in the said matter was whether it was legal and

appropriate for the State Government to issue circular dated 16 th

March, 2020 to the effect that from the academic year 2020-21 for only

MBA/MMS courses, the candidates who had appeared for GMAT, KVM

7 - WP 8028 OF 2021.doc MAT and ATMA and XAT would not be eligible to participate in the

admission process and only those candidates who had appeared for

MAH-MBA/MMS CET, CMAT and CAT courses shall be eligible.

7. The petitioners in this case have appeared for MAT

examinations. Due to the short notice issued to the students by the

State Government vide said Government Resolution dated 16 th March,

2020, making the said resolution applicable w.e.f. academic year 2020-

21 in the facts of that case, this Court clarified that the said impugned

decision in the said Government Resolution dated 16th March, 2020

declaring that the results of ATMA, XAT, MAT, GMAT entrance tests

not be a valid eligibility criteria for admissions to the MBA/MMS

courses and only the Maharashtra State CET, CMAT and CET would

be considered with the valid examination shall not be eligible for the

academic year 2020-21. Since there was no challenge to the said

Government Resolution dated 16th March, 2020 for subsequent years,

this Court clarified that the said Government Resolution may operate in

the next academic year 2021-22.

8. Since the said Government Resolution dated 16th March, 2020 KVM

7 - WP 8028 OF 2021.doc makes it clear that change in the eligibility criteria mentioned therein

would apply for the academic year 2021 onwards, the petitioners

cannot be allowed to urge before this Court that there was a short

notice for subsequent years though the said Government Resolution

was issued as far back as on 16th March, 2020.

9. The Government notification issued by the Maharashtra CET is

in furtherance of the said Government Resolution dated 16 th March,

2020. We are thus not inclined to interfere with the examination

procedure already commenced.

10. Writ petition is devoid of merits and is accordingly dismissed.

No order as to costs.

[ABHAY AHUJA, J.]                           [R.D.DHANUKA, J.]