Madras High Court
Himalayan Edu-Care Institution vs The Registrar on 10 August, 2021
W.A.No.2047 of 2018
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 10.08.2021
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE T.RAJA
and
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V.SIVAGNANAM
W.A.No.2047/2018 and CMP.No.16209/2018
Himalayan Edu-Care Institution
rep. by its Co-ordinator
Mr.Rupesh Kumar Singh,
MKS Complex, 5 Road,
Salem-636 004. ... Appellant
-vs-
1. The Registrar,
Periyar University,
Salem-11.
2. The Controller of Examinations,
Periyar University, Salem-11.
3. The Director,
Periyar Institute of Distance Education
(PRIDE), Periyar University,
Salem-11. ... Respondents
Prayer: Writ appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent
against the order of the learned Single Judge made in W.P.No.9000 of
2018 dated 25.06.2018.
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1/11
W.A.No.2047 of 2018
For Appellant : Ms.Priyanka
for M/s.Dr.R.Gouri
For respondents : Mr.P.Godson Swaminath
1 and 3
JUDGMENT
(Judgment of the Court was pronounced by T.RAJA.J)
This Writ Appeal has been directed against the order of the
learned Single Judge made in W.P.No.9000 of 2018 dated 25.06.2018
in and by which the prayer of the writ petitioner/appellant herein to
issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the 3rd respondent to consider the
representation of the writ petitioner dated 01.02.2018 with a
consequential direction to the University to release the candidates'
mark lists for the first and second year of the calendar year batch
2016 and the academic year batch 2016-2017, was dismissed.
2. Learned Counsel for the appellant submitted that the
appellant Institution was approved by the respondent University for
pursuing courses on behalf of the respondent University on 07.09.2015
and on 19.03.2017, the respondent University has released the
Examination Circular indicating the examination to be held in May,
2017 and also for change of venue for writing the examinations.
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
Thereafter, on 19.05.2017, a Circular was issued by Periyar University
to conduct the examination for degree courses for the students of the
appellant Study Centre. Accordingly, the examinations were
conducted by the Study Centre under the guidance of the respondent
University, thereafter, on 29.08.2017, the respondent University
issued notice to the appellant study centre for payment of pending
examination fees.
3. Learned Counsel for the appellant further submitted that
the appellant's Study Centre was provisionally approved by the
respondent University, by proceedings dated 31.08.2015 for
conducting Study Centre and for pursuing courses on behalf of the
respondent-University. Pursuant thereto, the students were admitted
to the respondent University through the appellant Study Centre. One
among the Study Centres of the respondent-University is at Salem
with Code No.1584 for conducting Distance Education (Correspondence
Course). Therefore, it has been pleaded that when 1027 students
were admitted for the Under Graduate Courses in the current year
2017, the respondent University should be directed to release their
mark lists, but that prayer was rejected. Aggrieved thereby, the
present Writ Appeal has been preferred.
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
4. Learned Counsel for the appellant also submitted that
when the appellant Study Centre was granted permission to admit the
students and also to write the examinations, after all the students
wrote the examinations, declining to release their results is
unjustifiable. Adding further, it is stated that when the results of some
of the students were published by the University, it is not known why
the results of the other students could be withheld. This aspect has
been ignored by the learned Single Judge. When 1510 students have
appeared for the examinations and they were allowed to write the
examinations, thereafter publishing the results of some of the students
and withholding the results of other students is certainly reflecting the
discriminative attitude of the Periyar University that will not pass the
test of reasonableness under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
Therefore, a direction be issued to publish the results of the other
students also, she pleaded.
5. Learned Counsel for the 3rd respondent submitted that the
University Grants Commission vide its Public Notice F.No.12-9/2016
(DEB-III) dated 19.07.2016 enjoined the Universities from conducting
the Distance Education Programmes from time to time outside the
State of their location. While so, the respondent University vide their
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
Circular in PU/PRIDE/UGC/PUBLIC NOTICE/2016 dated 20.05.2016
closed all the Study Centres in other States/Countries and informed
them that no admission shall be made in these Centres for the
forthcoming years. Although, Periyar University was established in the
year 1997 under the Tamil Nadu Periyar University Act, 1997, it has
jurisdiction over the districts of Salem, Dharmapuri, Namakkal and
Krishnagiri. The University has six Constituent Colleges which form an
integral part of the University. The University has got 27 departments
and 101 affiliated colleges including 6 Constituent Colleges. Therefore,
the University Grants Commission (UGC) has conferred 12(B) status
to the University in the year 2005. The National Assessment and Re-
accreditation Council (NAAC) have also conferred 'A' Grade with
CGPA3.15 out of 4. With these credentials, Periyar University has
been offering Distance Education Programmes through Recognized
Study Centres wherein the appellant is one such recognized study
centres with Centre Code 1584.
6. Learned Counsel for the 3rd respondent further submitted
that the Study Centres were directed not to admit students from other
States in view of the University Grants Commission Notification
mentioned above, with a clear instruction that only those who were
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
admitted before the academic year 2016-17 in Study Centres outside
the State, were permitted to sit for examination in their respective
Study Centres, with an understanding that these Study Centres after
the completion of the courses by the students admitted before 2016-
17 ought to be closed and from the academic year 2016-2017, there
will be no study centre outside the State permitted to offer courses
through Distance Education Programmes under Periyar Institute of
Distance Education (PRIDE). But, interestingly enough, the appellant
Study Centre admitted students from Tamil Nadu as well as other
States in the country. At the time of admission, the students have
given an Undertaking in a Declaration Form that they would write all
the examinations in the allotted exam centres in Tamil Nadu and they
would attend PCP and Practical classes at the University/Study Centres
in the designated places in Tamil Nadu. Totally, the appellant Study
Centre has admitted 2695 students in the year 2016-2017 for the
Distance Education Programme. After the examination notification for
the first year examination for the students admitted in the year 2016-
2017, 1510 application forms were received by the respondents from
the students admitted in the appellant Study Centre and after
processing the examination applications and payment of fee in
compliance of the instructions, the University generated Hall Tickets on
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
its website www.periyaruniversity.ac.in for 1510 students of the
appellant Study Centre having Centre Code 1584 and more
interestingly, the students registered under the appellant Study Centre
were allotted the examination centre in Padmavani Arts and Science
College for Women, Salem. The examinations were scheduled
between 25.05.2017 and 20.06.2017. But none of the students from
the Appellant Study Centre admitted after 2016-17 appeared for the
examinations in the centre allotted and therefore, they were declared
as absentees.
7. Learned Counsel for the 3rd respondent also submitted that
when the answer sheets were received from the State Study Centres
located in other states which were permitted to conduct the
examinations for the students admitted before 2016-2017, it was
found that the answer sheets of the students of the appellant study
centre were received in the University with Dummi Numbers that were
allotted to them and evaluation was also done. But after the
evaluation, it was sadly found that the students registered in the
appellant Study Centre to their whims and fancies wrote the
examinations in the examination centre outside the State, instead of
the allotted examination centre. When the appellant Study Centres
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
has flouted the University norms and violated their declarations, the
results of the students registered in the appellant study centre were
not published. For some of the students, the results were published
unknowingly and some of the students, results were withheld by the
University and they were also subsequently cancelled on 03.07.2018.
Therefore, the question of distinction said to have been made out to
the students community is unacceptable. Hence, the present Writ
Appeal is liable to be dismissed.
8. At the outset, the fact that the appellant study centre
being one of the recognized study centres with Code No.1584 ought
not to have held examinations outside the State without the prior
permission of the respondent University. Further, it is not in dispute
that there is payment of fees for change of Examination Centre, but, at
the same time, it is not applicable to the students those who have
joined prior to 2016-2017 and in this regard, instructions were given
on 31.01.2018 by the University to the students joined prior to 2016-
2017. When there was a specific prohibiting circular in
PU/PRIDE/UGC/PUBLIC NOTICE/2016 dated 20.05.2016 that no study
centres outside the State shall be permitted to offer the courses
through the Distance Education Programme and only those students,
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
who have joined the academic year prior to 2016-2017, were
permitted to sit for exams in their respective study centres, it will not
give any right to the students who had joined the course after 2016-
2017 to write the exams because the appellant Study Centre ought not
to have admitted the students from 2016-2017. Therefore, firstly,
when there was a fault on the part of the appellant study centre in
admitting the students from the academic year 2016-2017, the
declaration of the results of the students who violated the circular is
untenable. Secondly, the students registered in the appellant Study
Centre wrongly wrote their examinations in the examination centre
outside the State instead of the allotted Centre, without the prior
permission from the respondent University. Thirdly, the appellant
Study Centre has flouted the University norms and violated their
declarations. Therefore, the results of the students registered in the
appellant's Study Centre were not published. When the declaration
forms sent by the students make it clear that they have to write the
examinations in the Tamil Nadu Examination Centres only, namely, the
Examination Centre at Padmavani Arts and Science College for
Women, Salem, without choosing that Centre they cannot write the
examinations in some other Examination Centre. Therefore, this Court
is not able to find any good reason to interfere with the impugned
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W.A.No.2047 of 2018
order.
9. In the result, the Writ Appeal is dismissed thereby
confirming the order passed by the learned Single Judge in
W.P.No.9000 of 2018 dated 25.06.2018. No costs. Consequently,
connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.
(T.R.J.,) (V.S.G.J.,)
10.08.2021
tsi
To
1. The Registrar,
Periyar University,
Salem-11.
2. The Controller of Examinations,
Periyar University, Salem-11.
3. The Director,
Periyar Institute of Distance Education
(PRIDE), Periyar University,
Salem-11.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
W.A.No.2047 of 2018
T.RAJA, J.
and
V.SIVAGNANAM, J.
tsi
W.A.No.2047/2018
10.08.2021
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
