Eighty-five engineering colleges under the aegis of Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University will come under the scanner of the Bombay high court for allegedly committing irregularities by not following the Maharashtra University Act.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court to hear and decide on a petition filed by college professor, Sunil Mishra, alleging that the university permitted 85 colleges to allow their students to appear for exams despite them not having completed 180 days of studies as the colleges themselves were not granted permission to start before the prescribed time limit under the Maharashtra University Act.
A division bench of justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik asked the court to decide the issue expeditiously and also revoked the Rs10,000 imposed on Mishra, a faculty of the Central India Institute of Mass Communication, by the high court in November 2010.
Mishra’s counsels -- Prashant Bhushan, Sumeet Sharma and Bhanoo Sood -- argued that as per section 82(1) of Maharashtra University Act, the management must seek permission from the government to open new colleges before last day of October of the preceding year. The government has to grant permission before July 15 of the year in which new college is proposed to be started.
Permission received after July 15 shall be given effect by the university only in the subsequent academic year. The act further makes it mandatory for students to study for 180 days before appearing for examinations.In the year 2006-07 and 2007-08, government granted permission to 40 and 45 engineering colleges respectively, after July 15. Initially the students were not permitted to appear for the examination as they had not completed 180 days.
However, a resolution was passed by the board of examination, Nagpur University, held in March 2007, permitting the students to appear.
Alleging that this was violation of rules, Mishra made a representation to the vice chancellor of the Nagpur University, who rejected his representation. After that Mishra had approached the high court.