In an exercise of its residuary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted relief to an appellant institute facing imminent displacement from its current premises, thereby safeguarding the academic continuity of approximately 250 enrolled students. The Court issued directions to permit the institute's temporary relocation, acknowledging the exigency created by an unsettled property dispute and the incompletion of the institute’s intended new campus.
The bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih was seized of an appeal arising from a dispute concerning the premises of a hotel management institute in Mangaluru, operating since 2004. The Court was informed that pursuant to a settlement agreement with the property owner, the institute was obligated to vacate its current premises on or before April 30, 2025. While the appellant proposed to shift operations to a newly acquired site, that location was not yet ready for occupation. Consequently, the institute proposed to function temporarily from an alternative property.
The appellant contended that the temporary premises would satisfy the infrastructural and academic requirements, except for the long-term lease norm mandated by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The institute thus sought appropriate directions from the Court to allow interim relocation and continued affiliation for a limited period.
“Faced with the difficulty that on the one hand the appellant has to vacate the present premises and on the other hand, the campus where it is proposing to relocate its institute, is not ready, the appellant is required to shift its institute at a temporary location,” the bench recorded.
The Court, noting that the institute had been functioning since 2004 and had received AICTE approval even for the academic year 2024–25, emphasized the immediate imperative to protect students’ academic interests. The bench held:
“We find that this is a fit case wherein this court should exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to meet the ends of justice. If we fail to exercise the said power, the career of about 250 students would be jeopardised.”
In light of this assessment, the Supreme Court directed that the AICTE and Mangalore University “not to insist, for a period of two years from today, on compliance with the requirement of the appellant shifting its institute to a place which is either owned by it or in respect of which the lease for a period of over 30 years is existing.” The regulatory bodies were further instructed to maintain the validity of permissions and affiliations extended to the institute during this two-year interim period.
However, the Court was categorical in preserving the regulatory standards and clarified that “the said premises would conform to the other requirement.”
The institute has been ordered to complete its new permanent campus, satisfying AICTE norms, within two years and relocate by April 30, 2027.
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