OWP/1107/2010 of PARDEEP ETT COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND ORS Vs STATE TH.EDUCATION DEPTT.AND ORS. on 27 December 2010

HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT.JAMMU

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Dateof Decision: 27.12.2010|

MLP College of Education & Ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.Isher Institute of ETT, Kathua & Ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.Taleem Ghar ETT Institute|Vs.State of J@K & ors.K.C.Gurukul ETT Instt. Udhampur & anr. Vs..State of J@K & ors.Baba Teachers Training Institute|Vs.State of J@K & ors.Bhagwati Haqiqat Memorial ETT & Ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.sarvodhya ETT College & ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.Uma Teacher Training Institute & Ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.Divey Jyoti Educational TrustVs.State of J@K & ors.Bahu Teacher Trgng. Institute & ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.Kalra Institute of ETT & anr. |Vs.State of J@K & ors.Tariq ETT Institute & ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.Royal Institute of Teachers Trgng. & anr.|Vs.State of J@K & ors.GHO Brahmana ETT Institute, SambaVs.State of J@K & ors.sarvodya Instt. of Teachers Trgn. & Ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.New Generation Educational Instt. & ors.Vs.State of J@K & ors.»s.M.Shishu Niketan College of ETT & Ors. Vs.State ot J@sK & ors.Coram:

Mr. Justice J.P.Sin%&'Jud%eae

Appearing Counsel:For the Petitioner(s) :M/s M.K.Bhardwaj, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Ajay Abrol, |Advocate and Nitin Bhasin, Vikas Mangotra & SachinSharma, Advocates. |

For the Respondent(s) : M/s Neeru Goswami, Dy.A.G, D. S. Thakur & ArunaThakur, Advocates.

&@Whether approved for reportingin Press/Journal/ MediaYes&&@Whether to be reportedin Digest/Journal The petitioners-Institutes, imparting instructions in>the Elementary Teachers Training Course, ‘ETT’ for short, have filed these Petitions seeking directions against the.Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education,|Jammu to accept the Registration Returns, Admission|and Examination Forms, besides requisite fee of the.students admitted by them in their respective Institutes|and grant them temporary affiliation. —

Their grievance is that the Jammu and KashmirState Board of School Education, Jammu, the ‘Board’ for.short, had, without any justifiable reason refused to.

ACCEPTtheRegistrationReturns,AdmissionandExamination Forms of the students admitted by them to.impart instructions in the ETT Course for the Session.2009-2011, thereby affecting their right to carry on their)profession of imparting instructions in Elementary|Teachers Training Course.

The Board has filed its Response to some of the WritPetitions whereas similar stand was projected by the|learned counsel appearing for the Board, to contest the|Writ Petitions where no written Response was filed.

According to the Board, it had issued Academic.Calendar for the first year of Elementary Teachers.Training Course in the non-government recognized/attiliated Institutions for the Session 2VJOO9-2011 =Jammu Division and Admission Forms of only those.students were not accepted by the Board who were.admitted aiter the last date of the admission stipulated inthe Notification issued by the Board in this behalt.

As similar issues arise in all these Petitions, these,were taken up for joint consideration on the request of the.learned counsel for the parties.

Peru Sedthe.pleadingsandconsideredthe.submissions made at the Bar by the learned counsel for.the parties.

The documents placed on records by some of the.petitioners-Institutes running ETT Courses reveal that.“No Objection Certificates” for running ETT Course for the,session 2009-2011 were issued to the Institutes, after|08.05.2010, the last date of Admission of students|notified as such by the Board. |

In the Notification dated 21.08.2010, issued by theBoard of School Education, a copy whereof has been|placed on records by the Board, the last date of admissionis shown as 08.05.2010, the date of Classification is 10.05.2010, the date of submission of Registration|Returns along with other documents of eligibility is from)september 15, 2010 to September 29, 2010, whereas dateof collection of computerized Examination Forms is from|October 15, 2010 to October 29, 2010.

The plea of the learned counsel for the Board that.the late admissions made by the petitioners-Institutes,|violating the Notification of the Board, would not entitlethem to seek directions against the Board to accept theirRegistration Returns and other documents, needs to be.considered in the light of the facts appearing from the.documents placed on records. —

These|documents.demonstratethatthelateadmission of the students in the petitioners-Institutes,|

cannot be attributed wholly to the petitioners-Institutes,|for the inaction of the State Government in processing theapplications of the Institutes seeking issuance of ‘No.Objection Certificates’ for running Elementary Teachers.Training Course for the Session 2009-2011 and taking|appropriate decision thereon, for a long time, too has|contributed to the late admission of students in the!Colleges. —

The State Government was required to pass final.orders on the request of the Institutes to issue ‘No.Objection Certificates’ for running ETT Course well beforethe date notified for admission of students in these)Colleges by the Board. In any case if the Government hadno intention of permitting the Institutes to run ETT.course for the Session 2OO9-2011, it would not have|issued ‘No Objection Certificates’ aiter the last date of,admissions for the Session, notified by the Board.

The ‘No Objection Certificates’ placed on records bysome of the petitioners-Institutes reveal that the State|Government had been issuing ‘No Objection Certificates’even up to September 2010.

The State thus appears to have permitted the.Institutes to run the KITT Course for the Session 2J002011, despite the last date of admissions of students in)

the Colleges for the Session 2009-2011.

Pursuant to the grant of permission to run the ETTCourse, aiter the last date of admission of students, the|petitioners appear to have admitted students for the|Session 2OO9-2011.

The Board too, does not appear to have intended.strict adherence to the last date of admission of studentsin the ETT Institutes, in that, no general notification prior|to the Notification of August 21, 2010 where the last dateof admission is indicated three months prior thereto,appears to have been issued. The Board, therefore,appears to have been accepting the admission of students by the Institutes even aiter 08.05.2010.

In these circumstances, the Board was required to.consider the request of the Institutions for acceptance of,their Registration Returns, Admission Forms, fee etc. in)the background of the belated issuance of ‘No Objection|Certificates’ by the State Government, for the ETT.Institutes, which had admitted students pursuant to the|permission granted to them by the State Government, cannot be put to a disadvantageous position which may.render the State Government permission to them to run|the ETT Courses for the Session 2009-2011, ineffective.

The refusal of the Board to accept the Registration|

Returns and Admission Forms of the students admitted|by the Institutes solely on the ground that they had not.complied with its Academic Calendar for admission of,students and submission of Registration Returns, without,considering the circumstances, projected individually by|them, that had led to the late admission of the students,may not therefore be justified.

During the pendency of the Petitions and subject tothe final orders in the Writ Petitions, the Board was|directed to accept the Registration Returns, Admission|Forms and other requisites from the Institutes in terms of,the interim orders passed in some of these Writ Petitions.

In some of the Writ Petitions, the petitioners haveindicated other reasons as well which are stated to have|contributed for late submission of the Registration|Returns of some ot the students admitted in theirInstitutes.

Looking to the totality of the circumstances of thesecases and keeping in view the interests of the large.number of students, who are stated to include students|from other States of the Country as well, the Board is.required to consider the request of the _ petitionerInstitutes, for accepting their Registration Returns,Examination Forms and other requisites, in the light of.

the admitted fact that the delay in admission of the.students had occasioned,inter alia, because of thedelayed issuance of ‘No Objection Certilicates’ by the State.Government and late filling up of the seats which had.become available because of the non-joining/abandoning|of the course by some of the students of these Colleges.

In the circumstances, all these Petitions are,therefore, disposed of with a direction to the State Board.of School Education to consider the request of the.petitioners-Institutes for acceptance of their Registration|Returns, Admission Forms and other requisites, fee etc.,|exercising its discretion to regularize the late admission ofthe students, taking a pragmatic view on the cause so.projected by the petitioners-Institutes individually, for.passing appropriate orders in this respect, within a period Ot|Ten|daysOt|the.petitioners-Institutes’makingRepresentations with it. A week’s time is allowed to the|petitioners-Institutes to make Representations to the|Board seeking its consideration for regularization of the.admissions and acceptance of the Registration Returns,Admission|andHxeaminationHorms,besidesotherrequisites.

The acceptance of Registration Returns, AdmissionForms and other requisites, shall not, however, entitle the students to take the Examination unless they fulfill all the,requisites needed therefor under the rules in force.

The aforesaid directions have been issued in thepeculiar facts and circumstances of these cases which|shall not be treated as precedent.

JAMVIM2(.12.2010|Pawan Chopra

(J. P. SINGH)JUDGE