SCA/996420/2008 1/6 JUDGMENT IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION No. 9964 of 2008 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION No. 10049 of 2008 For Approval and Signature: HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR. M.S.SHAH Sd/- HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.H.WAGHELA Sd/- ============================================= = 1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ? 3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of the judgment ? 4 Whether this case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the constitution of India, 1950 or any order made thereunder ? 5 Whether it is to be circulated to the civil judge ? 1 to 5 NO ============================================= = SARVAJANIK KELAVANI MANDAL - Petitioner(s) Versus HEMCHANDRACHARYA NORTH GUJARAT UNIVERSITY & 1 - Respondent(s) ============================================= = Appearance : MR HJ NANAVATY for Petitioner (In SCA No.9964 of 2008) MRS VD NANAVATI with MR SI NANAVATI for Petitioner (in SCA No.10049 of 2008) MR SN SHELAT for Respondent(s) : 1, MR DIPEN DESAI ASSTT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for Respondent(s) : 2, ============================================= = CORAM : HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR. M.S.SHAH and SCA/996420/2008 2/6 JUDGMENT HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.H.WAGHELA Date : 27/08/2008 ORAL JUDGMENT (Per : HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR. M.S.SHAH) 1. Both these petitions are filed by the institutions running as self-financed private colleges imparting post graduate course in pharmacy. According to the petitioners, they acted upon the admission calendar issued by respondent No. 1- Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, issued advertisement inviting applications from eligible candidates and, on the basis of merits, granted admissions on 40 seats in SCA No.9964 of 2008 and 10 seats in SCA No.10049 of 2008. According to the petitioners, the said admissions were granted before the end of June, 2008 and academic sessions started from 25.06.2008 as far as the petitioner in SCA No.9964 of 2008 is concerned and from 10.07.2008 in the case of the other petitioner. 2. The respondent University, however, issued an advertisement on 01.08.2008 inviting applications from eligible candidates on the basis of the admission rules and regulations of Hemachandracyarya North Gujarat University for academic year 2008-09. The University also addressed communications dated 30.07.2008 to the petitioner colleges taking exception to the admissions granted by the petitioner in the first petition, i.e. SCA 9964 of 2008. This communication was in response to the petitioner college's letter dated 23.07.2008 sending enrollment forms. It was stated by the Registrar of the University in the said communication that the petitioner was SCA/996420/2008 3/6 JUDGMENT aware of the requirement to grant admissions to the Centralized Admission Committee and admissions were granted by the college directly which was violative of the instructions issued by the University. It was also stated that the admissions granted by the petitioner colleges may be treated as irregular and only admissions granted through the Centralized Admission Committee should be treated as valid. Such communication was sent to the petitioner in SCA No.10049 of 2008. 3. Aggrieved by the above communications, the petitioners moved this Court by invoking the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. 4. Though several contentions were sought to be raised by Mr.H.J.Nanavaty, learned counsel for the petitioner in SCA No.9964 of 2008 and Mr.S.I.Nanavati, learned counsel for the petitioner in SCA No.10049 of 2008, it is not necessary to set out and deal with them as the petitions deserve to be allowed on the ground that the respondent University is seeking to apply the rules framed on 30.07.2008 with retrospective effect. There is no dispute about the fact that the rules were published on 30.07.2008. Mr.Shelat, learned counsel for the University, however, submitted that the representatives of the petitioner institutions had attended the meeting of the University bodies where decision was taken to request the State Government to include M.Pharm course also under the Gujarat Professional Technical Educational Colleges or Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Act, 2007 (for short, "the Act of 2007") and, therefore, the petitioners were well aware about the need to grant SCA/996420/2008 4/6 JUDGMENT admissions through Centralized Admission Committee. 5. In view of the above submissions, we have carefully examined the documents produced with the affidavit-in-reply of the University. At the meeting of the University Court held on 28.03.2008, it was submitted by some of the members that admissions to pharmacy and engineering post graduate courses should be granted by the University through Centralized Admission Committee so that the process is transparent. In view of the said suggestion, a feeling was expressed that Education Department of the State Government may be requested to do the needful in the matter. The said issue was also discussed at the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 30.04.2008 where it was resolved after deliberations that the State Government be requested to introduce centralized admission committee procedure for post graduate courses in pharmacy and engineering colleges. Accordingly, Registrar of the University had sent a communication dated 15.04.2008 to the Principal Secretary, Education Department, requesting the State Government to do the needful for introducing centralized admission committee procedure for post graduate courses in engineering and pharmacy. Another letter to the same effect was also sent by the Registrar to the Principal Secretary, Education Department on 08.05.2008. It clearly appears from the above documents that the respondent University had merely decided to request the State Government to introduce centralized admission committee procedure for admission to post graduate courses in SCA/996420/2008 5/6 JUDGMENT pharmacy and engineering, but neither the University had framed any rules for centralized admission committee procedure nor was any amendment made to the said Act of 2007. In this view of the matter, no fault can be found with the petitioner institutions in following the circular dated 12.05.2008 which was addressed by the Registrar to the Heads of all the institutions running post graduate courses and to all the Principals of Colleges affiliated to the University wherein it was specifically mentioned that admissions to post graduate courses shall be completed by 05.07.2008 and academic sessions shall commence in post graduate courses from 07.07.2008. In view of the above undisputed facts, the admissions already granted by the petitioner institutions to the seats of post graduate course in pharmacy run by them cannot be permitted to be disturbed on the basis of the admission rules framed by the respondent University subsequently, i.e. on 30.07.2008. 6. In view of the fact that the University had been requesting the State Government to cover the pharmacy course also under the Act of 2007, we called upon Mr.Dipen Desai, learned Assistant Government Pleader, to indicate the stand of the State Government, as such uncertainty about admissions to post graduate course cannot be allowed to continue for all time to come. After taking instructions, Mr.Dipen Desai, learned A.G.P., states that the State Government has decided to include post graduate courses in engineering and pharmacy colleges as well as architecture colleges under the Act of 2007 and that notification(s) to that effect will be published within three months from today. The learned A.G.P. states that the Act of 2007 will, therefore, be SCA/996420/2008 6/6 JUDGMENT applicable for admissions to be granted to post graduate courses in pharmacy, engineering and architecture colleges from the academic year 2009-10. 7. In view of the above stand of the State Government also, it is clear that post graduate course in pharmacy is not covered by the provisions of the Act of 2007 providing for centralized admission committee procedure and therefor also, the respondent University cannot be permitted to disturb the admissions already granted by the petitioner institutions for the academic year 2008-09. 8. The petitions are accordingly allowed and the respondent University is directed to accept the enrollment forms to be sent by the petitioner colleges for the students admitted to post graduate course in pharmacy in the petitioner colleges prior to 30.07.2008. Rule is made absolute. Sd/- ( M.S.Shah, Actg.C.J.) Sd/- ( D.H.Waghela, J.) (KMG Thilake)