AJN WP6963.10 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.6963 OF 2010 Poona School of Business Educational Foundation PSB Institute of Management, Pune. ... Petitioners Vs. The Registrar, University of Pune, Pune & Anr. ... Respondents Mr. Sugandh B. Deshmukh for the petitioners. Mr. Girish S. Kulkarni i/b Ms. M.G. Kulkarni for respondent 1. Mr. S.R. Nargolkar, AGP for respondent 2. CORAM: MRS. RANJANA DESAI & R.V. MORE, JJ. DATED : 1ST SEPTEMBER, 2010. P.C.:- 1. The case of the petitioners is that the petitioners have forwarded eligibility forms of the students to the University of Pune. However, the 1st respondent i.e. the Registrar, University of Pune has by oral direction refused AJN WP6963.10 2 to accept the said eligibility forms stating that the petitioners have not appointed an eligible candidate to the post of the Director. It is the case of the petitioners that they communicated to the 1st respondent the efforts made by them to find out eligible candidate for the post of Director and informed the University of Pune that the petitioners could not find any eligible candidate for the post of Director despite efforts and in case they do find any eligible candidate, they will appoint him to the said post. However, the 1st respondent refused to show any latitude to the petitioners. According to the petitioners, they have made huge expenditure on the infrastructure and they have already appointed the other teaching and non-teaching staff and also admitted students to the courses of MCM, MMM and MPM and, therefore, if the eligibility forms are not accepted, irreparable loss will be caused to the petitioners as well as to the admitted students. The petitioners have, therefore, prayed that the time to appoint the Director may be extended by six months and the respondents be directed not to take any AJN WP6963.10 3 action against the petitioners for six months and further direction be given to accept the eligibility forms of the students of the petitioners. 2. Our attention is drawn to the order passed by the Supreme Court in K.J. Somaiya Institute of Information Technology & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. in Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No.13868 of 2009 dated 7/6/2010. In that special leave petition, the order passed by the Nagpur Bench dated 3/12/2008 was challenged. The Nagpur Bench had given a direction to appoint eligible candidate to the post of the Director within a stipulated time and had given a further direction that if the same is not done within the stipulated time, no admission could be granted to the students. Pursuant to this order, the Government issued Resolution dated 30/1/2010 in terms of the said order. The Supreme Court extended the time to fill up the posts of Director by six months and permitted the petitioners to admit the students for the academic year AJN WP6963.10 4 2010-11. 3. We may note that in somewhat similar fact situation, a Division Bench of this court in Writ Petition No.6337 of 2010 and other companion writ petitions following the above order of the Supreme Court has extended the time to appoint the Director by a period of six months on a condition that the petitioners file an undertaking to that effect and the Division Bench has permitted the petitioners in that case, to admit the students. In our opinion, the same course can be followed in this case also. Hence, the following order. 4. Time to appoint eligible candidate to the post of the Director is extended by six months on a condition that the petitioners file an undertaking that appointment of the eligible candidate as Director will be done as per eligibility prescribed and by following procedure applicable, within a period of six months from today. AJN WP6963.10 5 5. We also direct the 1st respondent to accept the eligibility forms of the students of the petitioners. 6. The petition is disposed of in the aforestated terms. [MRS. RANJANA DESAI, J.] [R.V. MORE, J.]