Setting aside the order of a single judge, a division bench of the Madras High Court bench here on Wednesday directed the Anna University (AU) to conduct a fresh inspection of Dhaya College of Engineering and pass orders on its application seeking provisional affiliation for the academic year 2013-2014.
Justice S. Manikumar had on June 7, 2013 directed the University to grant provisional affiliation to the college and allot a counselling code to enable it take part in the counselling for this academic year without any inspection. He had also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the registrar of the AU for not granting provisional affiliation to the college despite the instructions of the court.
“The college, having applied for affiliation for the year 2013-2014, is bound to cooperate with the inspection committee (of the AU). The non- cooperation of the college resulted in the rejection of its application for affiliation. Hence, the order passed by the single judge with a positive direction to grant affiliation, without conducting inspection, is not sustainable,” ruled a division bench comprising Justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and P. Devadass, while setting aside the order of Justice Manikumar.
According to Advocate General A.L. Somayaji, the administrative officer of the college, the principal and the staff members were not present in the college when a three-member inspection committee visited it on May 13, 2013. Therefore, the college was not inspected and the request for affiliation was rejected in an order dated May 20.
“We are aware that even though approval for conductive five BE programmes was granted by the AICTE, due to non-grant of affiliation by the AU, the college has not started the courses. No admission of students took place. Some of the staff members, who were shown as the faculty in the original application, are not available as on date and new faculty members have been appointed. All these facts are to be verified by the AU,” the judges noted in their order. But the college did not cooperate and the management refused to permit the university officials to enter the college and conduct the inspection, they observed.
Therefore, they directed the AU inspection committee to visit the college and inspect the infrastructure and instructional facilities, including the faculty members. “Fresh orders on the college’s application for affiliation should be passed within ten days. The University shall intimate the inspection date to the college three days in advance and the college should cooperate for the inspection,” the bench said, while dismissing the petition.
The college, established by the M.K. Alagiri Educational Trust, at Sivarakottai near Madurai in 2011 has been denied affiliation since its establishment by the AU, resulting in a long legal battle.
