Case: ROHAN VIRANI Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

Non¬Autonomous Institute for the current academic year 2019-20. 11.5. It is the admitted position that the autonomous status granted to JBIMS has not been revoked, or surrendered. The application for extension was made by JBIMS pursuant to the permission granted by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai. The application for extension is stated to be under active consideration. Since JBIMS had continued to fulfill the eligibility criteria for extension/renewal of the autonomous status, it is only a ministerial act which is required to be carried out by the University to issue the Notification for grant of extension/renewal of the autonomous status. 11.6. It is relevant to note that even during the previous academic year i.e. 2018-19, the Directorate of Technical Education had issued a Notification, whereby it amended the Information Brochure, and allocated 100% seats in JBIMS to the Maharashtra State quota. This Notification came to be challenged by a student from the All India Quota in the case of Mayuri Umesh Munde v. Directorate of Technical Education & Ors. (supra), wherein the Bombay High Court held that the 100% reservation in favour of candidates from the State was illegal and impermissible. The High Court noted that during the preceding years, the State of Maharashtra had consistently allocated 85% seats in Autonomous Institutes to candidates from all Universities in the State of Maharashtra, and 15% seats to candidates from the All India Quota. The High Court held that JBIMS being a premier institution, and one of the top management colleges in the country, was being deprived of bright meritorious students from all over the country. This was a great national loss, and would undermine the status of an institution of national stature. This judgment was not challenged any further, and attained finality. 11.7. A perusal of the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 provide the procedure for grant of autonomous status to departments of a University. Section 2(5) of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 defines autonomy as follows :¬ 2. (5) autonomy means a privilege of the university conferred by the Statutes to permit a college, institution or a university department to conduct academic programmes and examinations, develop syllabus for the respective subjects and issue certificates of passing the examinations; Section 122 of this Act provides that a University Department, institution, affiliated college, or recognized institution may apply to the University for grant of autonomous status. As per sub¬section (1) of Section 122, the Management Council, on the recommendation of the Academic Council, may confer the autonomous status. Section 122 reads as follows: ¬122. (1) A university department or institution, affiliated college or recognized institution may apply to the university for grant of autonomous status. The Management Council on the recommendation of the Academic Council may confer the autonomous status. (2) Autonomous university department or institution or affiliated college or recognized institution shall function with the objectives of promoting academic freedom and scholarship on the part of teachers and students which are essential to the fostering and development of an intellectual climate conducive to the pursuit of scholarship and excellence. (3) The autonomous university department or institution or affiliated college or recognized institution, may constitute its authorities or bodies and exercise the powers and perform the functions and carry out the administrative, academic and other activities of the university, as may be prescribed by the Statutes. (4) The autonomous university department or institution or affiliated college or recognized institution may prescribe its own courses of study, evolve its own teaching methods and hold examinations and tests for students receiving instruction in it, and recommend the university for award degrees, diplomas or certificates, after following the procedure as prescribed in the Statutes. The autonomous university department or institution or affiliated college or recognized institution shall have full academic and administrative autonomy subject to the provisions of this Act and Statutes and the guidelines issued by the University Grant Commission, from time to time. (emphasis supplied) The aforesaid provisions of the 2016 Act clearly indicate that it is the University which is empowered to grant autonomous status to its Departments. Statute 604 of the University of Mumbai empowers the University to grant autonomous status initially for a period of 5 years, and then to extend it for a further period of 5 years, subject to the procedure prescribed in Statutes 598 and 600. The Application for extension of autonomous status has accordingly been made by JBIMS as a Department of the University, which is pending consideration before the University. 12. The decision of JBIMS to apply for extension of its autonomous status was taken by its Board of Management on 15.02.2019, well before the admissions process for the MMS Course commenced for the academic year 2019-2020. Accordingly, the Directorate of Technical Education was requested not to include JBIMS in the said process. JBIMS after some delay, had addressed a letter dated 25.05.2019 to the Vice Chancellor of the University for extension of its autonomous status, which was followed up by letters dated 27.06.2019 and 28.06.2019. We observe that there was some delay on the part of JBIMS and the University, to process the Application for extension which led to uncertainty regarding its continued Autonomous Status. We however feel that meritorious students who have secured higher marks in the CET Examination should not be denied admission, in view of the uncertainty which occurred. In our opinion, it would be unjust and unfair to the meritorious Respondent¬Students. Admittedly, JBIMS has enjoyed autonomous status for the last 5 years, whereby Home University students and students from the State of Maharashtra being covered by the 85% State quota, had an equal opportunity to compete for admission. It would harm JBIMS as an institution of national repute, and cause disillusionment and resentment amongst the meritorious students, if the admissions are not made on the basis of merit in the CET. Accordingly, we direct that for the current academic year 2019-2020, admissions would be made as per the Judgment of the High Court.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]11.1. The admitted position is that JBIMS is a Department of the University of Mumbai, and was granted autonomous status by the University itself. JBIMS is not an affiliated college, nor a constituent college of the UniversityThis position has been accepted by all parties, including the State. In para 23 of the impugned judgment, the High Court has recorded the submission of the Advocate General for the State of Maharashtra about the status of JBIMS as follows :23….Then, Mr. Kumbhakoni was at pains to tell us about the status of JBIMS. He would submit that we must not forget that JBIMS is a department of University. The University has appointed the staff and the University has sanctioned the budget of JBIMS. It is not an affiliated college, but a college conducted by the University. It is not even a constituent college. Mr. Kumbhakoni would submit that the autonomy in this case is not granted by the UGC, but by the University of Mumbai…As per the University of Mumbai and JBIMS, autonomy was conferred by the University in accordance with the provisions of Maharashtra University Act, 199411.2. The UGC in its detailed written and oral submissions has expressly stated that JBIMS being a Department of the University of Mumbai, was not required to apply for autonomous status under the UGC 2018 Regulations. The 2018 Regulations were applicable to Colleges/ Institutions affiliated to Universities in the country seeking conferment of Autonomous College StatusIt was submitted that JBIMS is not an affiliated college, nor a constituent college, but a department of the University of Mumbai. The approval of the UGC is not required if a University Department applies to the University, for grant of autonomous status under Section 122 of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 201611.3. JBIMS had informed the Directorate of Technical Education vide letter dated 18.02.2019 that pursuant to the decision taken in the meeting of the Board of Management held on 15.02.2019, it was finalizing the admission procedure for the MMS course for the academic year 2019¬2020. It was requested that JBIMS should not be included in the CET processJBIMS informed the Directorate of Technical Education that since it was a Department of the University of Mumbai, it was awaiting to receive the extension of its autonomous status from the University of Mumbai11.4. The autonomous status conferred on JBIMS was granted with effect from 11.07.2014 to 11.07.2019. It was during the subsistence of the autonomous status, that the Directorate of Technical Education and the CET-Cell on 01.07.2019, had shown the status of JBIMS to be non-autonomousAs a consequence, the entire seat matrix for admission to the post¬graduate courses in JBIMS underwent a complete change. As per the seat matrix published, 70% seats would now be allocated to the University of Mumbai, to the exclusion of all other universities in the State of Maharashtra. The remaining 15% to other Universities; and the balance 15% for the All¬India Quota. In the aforesaid circumstances, since the application for extension was under consideration, the Directorate of Technical Education and the CET¬Cell were not justified in treating JBIMS as a Non¬Autonomous Institute for the current academic year 2019-2011.5. It is the admitted position that the autonomous status granted to JBIMS has not been revoked, or surrenderedThe application for extension was made by JBIMS pursuant to the permission granted by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai. The application for extension is stated to be under active considerationSince JBIMS had continued to fulfill the eligibility criteria for extension/renewal of the autonomous status, it is only a ministerial act which is required to be carried out by the University to issue the Notification for grant of extension/renewal of the autonomous status11.6. It is relevant to note that even during the previous academic year i.e. 2018-19, the Directorate of Technical Education had issued a Notification, whereby it amended the Information Brochure, and allocated 100% seats in JBIMS to the Maharashtra State quotaThis Notification came to be challenged by a student from the All India Quota in the case of Mayuri Umesh Munde v. Directorate of Technical EducationOrs. (supra), wherein the Bombay High Court held that the 100% reservation in favour of candidates from the State was illegal and impermissible. The High Court noted that during the preceding years, the State of Maharashtra had consistently allocated 85% seats in Autonomous Institutes to candidates from all Universities in the State of Maharashtra, and 15% seats to candidates from the All India QuotaThe High Court held that JBIMS being a premier institution, and one of the top management colleges in the country, was being deprived of bright meritorious students from all over the country. This was a great national loss, and would undermine the status of an institution of national statureThis judgment was not challenged any further, and attained finality11.7. A perusal of the provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 provide the procedure for grant of autonomous status to departments of a University.The aforesaid provisions of the 2016 Act clearly indicate that it is the University which is empowered to grant autonomous status to its DepartmentsStatute 604 of the University of Mumbai empowers the University to grant autonomous status initially for a period of 5 years, and then to extend it for a further period of 5 years, subject to the procedure prescribed in Statutes 598 and 600. The Application for extension of autonomous status has accordingly been made by JBIMS as a Department of the University, which is pending consideration before the University12. The decision of JBIMS to apply for extension of its autonomous status was taken by its Board of Management on 15.02.2019, well before the admissions process for the MMS Course commenced for the academic year 2019-2020. Accordingly, the Directorate of Technical Education was requested not to include JBIMS in the said process. JBIMS after some delay, had addressed a letter dated 25.05.2019 to the Vice Chancellor of the University for extension of its autonomous status, which was followed up by letters dated 27.06.2019 and 28.06.2019. We observe that there was some delay on the part of JBIMS and the University, to process the Application for extension which led to uncertainty regarding its continued Autonomous StatusWe however feel that meritorious students who have secured higher marks in the CET Examination should not be denied admission, in view of the uncertainty which occurred. In our opinion, it would be unjust and unfair to the meritorious Respondent¬Students. Admittedly, JBIMS has enjoyed autonomous status for the last 5 years, whereby Home University students and students from the State of Maharashtra being covered by the 85% State quota, had an equal opportunity to compete for admission. It would harm JBIMS as an institution of national repute, and cause disillusionment and resentment amongst the meritorious students, if the admissions are not made on the basis of merit in the CET. Accordingly, we direct that for the current academic year 2019-2020, admissions would be made as per the Judgment of the High Court.