C.W.P. No. 12414 of 2007 1 In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh. Civil Writ Petition No. 12414 of 2007 Date of Decision: 19.3.2008 The Managing Committee, Guru Tegh Bahadur College, Bhawanigarh, Sangrur. …Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and Another. …Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA Present: Mr. Manpreet Singh, Advocate for the Petitioner. Mr. Yatinder Sharma, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab, for respondent No.1. Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia, J. The Managing Committee, Guru Tegh Bahadur College, Bhawanigarh, Sangrur, has prayed for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to immediately release the deficit grant-in-aid of 95% along with arrears, which is pending, so that the salaries to the employees can be disbursed by the petitioner in accordance with the Grant-in-Aid Scheme formulated by the State Government. As per letter dated 19.12.2006 (Annexure P4) arrears to the C.W.P. No. 12414 of 2007 2 tune of Rs.49,76,487/- were due till the session 2005-2006 and due to non-payment, arrears increased and accumulated to Rs.56,63,823/- upto 28.6.2007. It is stated that the aforementioned amount is not being released to the petitioner by the respondents. Learned counsel for the State, however, submits that various objections have been raised and the petitioners have not cleared the same and hence, the amount has not been paid to the petitioners. Learned counsel for the State further submits that the State Government has imposed a cut of 10% from 21.12.2001 and as the cut has been applied to all the grant-in-aid affiliated Colleges throughout Punjab, hence, the petitioners have not been paid the amount as prayed for. Mr. Manpreet Singh, learned counsel for the petitioners has placed reliance on the judgments State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai Pragaji Vashi and Others (1995) 5 Supreme Court cases 730, Government of A.P. and Others v. G.V.K.Girls High School, (2000) 8 Supreme Court Cases 370, and State of Haryana and others v. Babita Yadav and Others (2004) 13 Supreme Court Cases 734, to contend that the paucity of funds or financial contributions cannot be taken a ground to deny the grant-in-aid to Government recognized private colleges while extending such facility to recognized private colleges by the State. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, we are of the considered view that the case of petitioners is squarely covered by the decision in the State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai Pragaji Vashi and Others, Government of A.P. and Others v. G.V.K.Girls High School, State of Haryana and others v. Babita Yadav and Others (supra). The C.W.P. No. 12414 of 2007 3 State Government cannot take up the ground that due to paucity of funds, it is unable to give grant-in-aid to the colleges. In view of the above, we hold that the respondents shall pay 85% of the grant-in-aid as claimed by the petitioners within a period of three months, after the clearance of the objections by the petitioners. The petitioners shall try to clear all the objections raised by the State Government within a period of one month from today. As far as the balance 10% of the amount of grant-in-aid case is concerned, the petitioners may submit a separate representation to the respondents. The respondents are also further directed to release the grant-in-aid to the petitioners in future also in time. The writ petition stands disposed of. (Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia) Judge (Ashutosh Mohunta) Judge March 19, 2008 “DK”