Vidya College Of Professional ... vs The Bihar School Examination ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 4534 Patna

           IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                     Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.151 of 2020
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Vidya College of Professional Studies, Plot No. 410,411, Vill.- Rasulpur Varuna, P.O.- Chipura, Tehsil/Taluka- Sampatchak, Town/City- Patna, Dist.- Patna, Bihar - 804453 through its Secretary Dipu Kumar, male, aged about 36 years, S/o Vidyanand Rai, R/o Makhdumpur, Gate No. 87, Dinapur Cum Khagaul, Patna, P.O.- Digha, P.S.- Digha, Dist.- Patna, Bihar- 800011.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The Bihar School Examination Board, Sinha Library Road, Patna through its Secretary.

2. The Chairman, Bihar School Examination Board, Sinha Library Road, Patna.

3. The Secretary, Bihar School Examination Board, Sinha Library Road, Patna.

4. The National Council for Teacher Education, Hans Bhawan Wing-II, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi- 110002 through its Member Secretary.

5. The Regional Director, National Council for Teacher Education, Eastern Regional Committee, 15 Neelkanth Nagar, Nayapalli, Bhubneshwar- 751012.

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

     For the Petitioner/s   :     Mr. P.K. Shahi, Sr. Advocate
                                  Mr.Suman Kumar, Advocate
     For the B.S.E.B.       :     Mr. Gyan Shankar, Advocate
     For the N.C.T.E.       :     Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh, Advocate

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT KUMAR SHAH C.A.V. JUDGMENT Date: 17-08-2022

1. The present writ petition has been filed for directing the

respondents to grant affiliation for additional 50 seats for the

academic session 2017-19 pertaining to diploma in Elementary

Education (herein after referred to as the 'D. El. Ed.') course as

per the recognition/permission granted by National Council for

Teacher Education w.e.f the academic session 2017-19 vide Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

Memo dated 02.05.2017.

2. The brief facts of the case, according to the petitioner is

that the respondent National Council for Teacher Education,

Eastern Regional Committee, Bhubaneswar (herein after

referred to as the 'NCTE') vide order dated 03.03.2016 had

granted recognition to the petitioner college for D. El. Ed..

course for the academic session 2016-17 with intake capacity of

50 students whereafter, vide order dated 02.05.2017, the NCTE

granted recognition to the petitioner college for conducting the

D. El. Ed. programme of two years duration with additional

intake of 50 students thus taking the total intake capacity of the

petitioner college to 100 students from the academic session

2017-18. It is the case of the petitioner that after grant of

recognition for additional 50 seats for the academic session

2017-18 by the NCTE, the petitioner college vide Memo dated

09.05.2017 wrote to the Bihar School Examination Board

(hereinafter referred to as the 'BSEB') for grant of affiliation for

additional 50 seats, however, the BSEB failed to grant affiliation

to conduct the D. El. Ed. course for the academic session 2016-

18 as well as for the academic session 2017-19, nonetheless,

affiliation was granted for academic session 2018-20. It is

submitted that the petitioner had earlier moved this Court for Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

grant of affiliation by filing a writ petition bearing CWJC No.

10788 of 2019, which was disposed off by a coordinate Bench

of this Court vide order dated 24.07.2019 with a direction to the

BSEB to consider the claim of all the petitioners in light of the

judgment dated 28.03.2019, rendered by the learned Division

Bench of this Court in CWJC No. 19046 of 2018. The BSEB,

upon consideration of the said judgment dated 28.03.2019,

passed in CWJC No. 19046 of 2018 (Rajendra Kishore B.Ed.

College and others vs. BSEB & others), passed an order dated

13.09.2019, whereby and whereunder, as far as the petitioner

college is concerned, it has been granted affiliation for the

academic session 2016-18 with annual intake of 50 students.

3. The Ld. Sr. Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that

the petitioner college had again represented before the

respondent BSEB vide representation dated 14.10.2019 for

grant of affiliation for additional 50 seats for the academic

session 2017-19 but to no avail. The Ld. Sr. Counsel for the

petitioner has also placed reliance on the order dated

26.09.2019, passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in

CWJC No. 19926 of 2019 (Dr. Trisuldhari Pandey Memorial

College of Education vs. The State of and others).

4. The Ld. Counsel for the respondent BSEB has submitted that Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

the petitioner had challenged the order of recognition of the

NCTE dated 03.03.2016, whereby and whereunder the

petitioner was granted recognition to conduct the D. El. Ed.

programme with annual intake of one basic unit (50) for

academic session 2016-17, by filing a writ petition bearing

WP(C) No. 9124 of 2016, before the Hon'ble Orissa High

Court and after the order of the Hon'ble Orissa High Court, the

NCTE issued a revised order dated 02.05.2017 granting

recognition to the petitioner college for conducting D. El. Ed.

programme with additional intake of 50 students (one basic

unit) from the academic session 2017-18. It has been further

submitted that the petitioner college was granted affiliation in a

phased manner, as per the application filed by it before the

BSEB, seeking affiliation corresponding to the recognition

granted by NCTE. In fact after issuance of letter dated

03.03.2016 by the NCTE, the petitioner had applied before the

BSEB on 18.01.2017, for grant of affiliation for conducting D.

El. Ed. programme for 50 seats, whereupon, the petitioner

college was granted affiliation, vide letter dated 20.11.2017,

from the academic session 2018-20. It is further stated that the

petitioner had filed various writ petitions, in which various

orders were passed by the Hon'ble High Court, hence Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

considering the same, the respondent BSEB passed an order

dated 13.09.2019, whereby and whereunder the academic

session of affiliation of the petitioner was corrected from 2018-

20 to 2016-18, i.e corresponding to the session of recognition,

as granted by the NCTE.

5. The Ld. Counsel for the respondents has also stated that

pursuant to the revised order of recognition issued by the NCTE

dated 02.05.2017, the petitioner college had filed an application

dated 01.06.2017, raising claim for grant of affiliation for the

added intake capacity of 50 seats, whereafter, the petitioner

college was granted affiliation by the BSEB for the additional

intake of 50 seats from the academic session 2018-20, vide

letter dated 13.06.2018. At this juncture, the learned counsel for

the respondents has referred to a judgment rendered by the

Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Maa Vaishno Devi Mahila

Mahavidyalaya vs. The State of U.P. and others., reported in

(2013) 2 SCC 617. It is further submitted that in the said case,

an Interlocutory Application bearing I.A. No. 16 of 2017 was

filed before the Hon'ble Apex Court and the Hon'ble Apex

Court, by an order dated 02.03.2017, extended the last date of

issuance of formal order of recognition for the academic session

2017-18 till 30.05.2017. Thus, apparently, the petitioner having Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

applied only on 01.06.2017 for grant of affiliation for additional

50 seats for the academic session 2017-18, i.e. after the

stipulated date/cut off date as fixed by the Hon'ble Apex Court

by the aforesaid order dated 02.03.2017 passed in I.A. No. 16 of

2017 in WP(C) No. 276 of 2012, it could not be granted

affiliation for the additional 50 seats for the academic session

2017-18, hence the BSEB granted affiliation to the petitioner

college for the added intake capacity of 50 seats from the

academic session 2018-20, by a letter dated 13.06.2018. As

regards, the contention of the petitioner that it had submitted

application for grant of affiliation for the additional 50 seats for

the academic session 2017-18, on 09.05.2017, the Ld. counsel

for the respondent BSEB has submitted that from a bare perusal

of the said letter dated 09.05.2017, it would be apparent that the

petitioner had filed a simple letter, annexing only the letter of

recognition issued by the NCTE for the additional 50 seats but

had neither filed any application in the requisite format nor had

annexed any supporting documents nor had paid the prescribed

fees required to be submitted by the college seeking affiliation.

Therefore, it is amply clear that only after issuance of letter by

the NCTE dated 02.05.2017, the petitioner had circumspectly

filed the said letter dated 09.05.2017 with a view to create its Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

claim for affiliation for the academic session 2017-19 for the

additional 50 seats, though the petitioner was well aware that for

the purposes of seeking affiliation, it is required to submit an

application in the prescribed format along with the necessary

documents, as per the procedure prescribed under clause 5(kha)

of the Bihar School Examination Board (Teacher Education

Issuance of no-objection certificate, affiliation norms and

procedure) Regulation, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the

'Regulations, 2016').

6. The Ld. Counsel for the respondents has categorically

stated that the petitioner college had filed an application in the

prescribed format along with the requisite fees, annexing all the

relevant documents, which can be found at Annexure-A to the

counter affidavit, only on 01.06.2017, which would further

demonstrate that the demand draft pertaining to the requisite

affiliation fees was obtained by the Secretary of the college

from the Canara Bank only on 31.05.2017 i.e. after expiry of the

extended cut off time fixed by the Hon'ble Apex Court as

30.05.2017.

7. The Ld. Counsel for the respondents has distinguished the

Order relied upon by the Ld. Sr. Counsel for the petitioner,

rendered in the case of Dr. Trisuldhari Pandey Memorial Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

College of Education (Supra), inasmuch as in the said case a

Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, by an order dated 26.09.2019,

after noticing that the requisite application for affiliation had

been submitted by the said college on 10.05.2017, had allowed

the said case relying upon the order dated 02.03.2017passed by

the Hon'ble Apex Court in an I.A. filed in the case of Maa

Vaishno Mahila Mahavidyalaya (Supra), whereby the last date

for issuance of formal order of recognition for the academic

session 2017-18 had been extended till 30.05.2017, whereas in

the present case the application in the prescribed format along

with the requisite fees for grant of affiliation was submitted

before the respondent BSEB only on 01.06.2017, i.e. after

expiry of the cut off date on 30.05.2017.

8. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused

the materials on record from which certain facts are not in

dispute inasmuch as the petitioner college was initially granted

affiliation by the NCTE for running two years D. El. Ed.

programme vide letter dated 03.03.2016 for the academic

session 2016-17 with an annual intake capacity of 50 seats

whereafter, the same was challenged by the petitioner before the

Hon'ble Orissa High Court and when the matter was remanded

back to the NCTE, the NCTE, vide letter dated 02.05.2017, had Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

granted recognition to the petitioner college for running the D.

El. Ed. programme from the academic session 2017-18 with an

annual intake capacity of 100 seats. In pursuance to the

recognition granted to the petitioner by the NCTE, vide letter

dated 03.03.2016, the petitioner had applied before the

respondent BSEB on 18.01.2017 for grant of affiliation for 50

seats for running the D. El. Ed. programme and the respondent

BSEB vide letter dated 20.11.2017 had granted affiliation to the

petitioner for the academic session 2018-20 with annual intake

capacity of 50 seats, however, the same was challenged by the

petitioner, whereafter the respondent BSEB, in light of the order

dated 28.03.2019 passed by the learned Division Bench of this

Court in CWJC No. 19046 of 2018 as also the one dated

24.07.2019 passed in the case of the petitioner i.e. in CWJC

No. 10788 of 2019, had reconsidered the matter and vide order

dated 13.09.2019 had amended its order of affiliation dated

20.11.2017 and had granted affiliation to the petitioner college

to run the D. El. Ed. programme for the academic session 2016-

18. In the meantime, pursuant to issuance of order of

recognition dated 02.5.2017 by the NCTE, granting recognition/

permission to the petitioner college to run D. El. Ed. programme

from the academic session 2017-18 with annual intake capacity Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

of 100 seats, the petitioner college had applied before the BSEB

for grant of affiliation to run the D. El. Ed. programme for the

additional 50 seats for the academic session 2017-18, in the

prescribed format along with the requisite fees on 01.06.2017,

however, the respondent BSEB has rightly not granted

affiliation for the academic session 2017-18, inasmuch as the

petitioner college had admittedly filed the said application after

expiry of the extended cut off date fixed by the Hon'ble Apex

Court as 30.05.2017, by an order dated 02.03.2017, passed in an

Interlocutory Application filed in the case of Maa Vaishno Devi

Mahavidyalaya (Supra), nonetheless, the respondent BSEB has

been gracious enough to have considered the case of the

petitioner for grant of affiliation for additional 50 seats for the

academic session 2018-20, which has been granted vide letter

dated 13.06.2018.

9. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case,

this Court is of the view that the request of the petitioner for

grant of affiliation to run the D. El. Ed. programme for 50

additional seats for the academic session 2017-19 has rightly

been not acceded to by the BSEB inasmuch as it had belatedly

filed the application in the prescribed format, complete in all

respect, along with the prescribed fees only on 01.06.2017 i.e. Patna High Court CWJC No.151 of 2020 dt.17-08-2022

after expiry of the last date fixed by the Hon'ble Apex Court as

30.05.2017, for issuance of formal order of recognition for the

academic session 2017-18. Thus grant of affiliation to the

petitioner college to run the D. El. Ed. programme for 50

additional students for the academic session 2017-19 would

have been in teeth of the aforesaid order dated 02.03.2017

passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court. Hence, no infirmity can be

found in the action of the respondent BSEB in granting

affiliation to the petitioner college to run the D. El. Ed.

programme for additional 50 seats for the academic session

2018-20. In fact, the learned senior counsel for the petitioner is

also not in a position to controvert this aspect of the matter.

10. Considering the aforesaid aspect of the matter and

for the reasons mentioned herein above, I do not find any merit

in the present writ petition, hence the present writ petition

stands dismissed.

(Mohit Kumar Shah, J)

S.Sb/-

AFR/NAFR                AFR
CAV DATE                16.09.2021
Uploading Date          17.08.2022
Transmission Date