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PETITIONER: MANAGING COMMITTEE OF BHAGWAN BUDH PRIMARYTEACHERS TRAINING

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: STATE OF BIHAR AND ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT06/11/1989

BENCH: KANIA, M.H. BENCH: KANIA, M.H. KULDIP SINGH (J)

CITATION:  1989 SCR  Supl. (2)  23  1990 SCC  Supl.  722  JT 1989  Supl.    308    1989 SCALE  (2)1096

ACT:     Educational Institutions: Education Act: Application for recognition of educational institution--Necessity for  early disposal by Government-Emphasised.

HEADNOTE:     The  petitioners in the special leave petition  started, without  recognition, a teachers training college in  Bihar, and  later applied for permission to allow its  students  to appear at the examination on the ground that the question of its recognition had not been decided by the Government.  The petitioners  failed to get the desired relief from the  High Court. Dismissing the special leave petition, this Court,     HELD: (1) A number of mushroom institutions have  sprung up in the State of Bihar without getting any recognition and thereafter have tried to get the permission from courts that its  students  be allowed to appear at  the  examination  on grounds of sympathy. [24G]     (2)  It is not possible to grant any such permission  as prayed for because the granting of such permission would  be clearly violating the provisions of the Education Act. [25B]     S.L.P.  No. 12014 of 1987 decided on November  25,  1987 A.P. Christians Medical Educational Society v. Government of A.P. & Anr., [1986] 2 SCC 667, referred to.     (3)  The  application for recognition in this  case  was made  by the petitioners as early as 1986 and that  applica- tion  has  not still been disposed of. The  same  should  be disposed of within 4 weeks from today. [25F]     (4) The concerned department of the Government of Bihar, should see to it that applications for recognition of educa- tional  institutions are decided promptly and where such  an application is without 24 merit, the Government should promptly reject,  the same  and take steps to see to it that the rejection is brought to the attention  of the students of the institution  concerned  so that they may not waste further time and money by undergoing training in that institution. [25C]     (5)  The failure of the Government to take  such  action would only reflect callous indifference to the interests  of the  young  students to whom the Government  certainly  owes

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certain responsibilities. [25D]     (6) The State should consider taking such steps,  Crimi- nal  or Civil, as open to it in law, to stop  such  institu- tions  and those who run them from misleading  students  and deceiving them. [25E]     (7)  The State Government of Bihar shall  get  published advertisements  in at least three newspapers in  that  State with wide circulation warning students not to take admission in any educational institution which has not got recognition and making it clear that if they do so, they would be  doing so at their own risk. [25G]

JUDGMENT:     CIVIL  APPELLATE  JURISDICTION: Special  Leave  Petition (Civil) No. 10326 of 1989.     From the Judgment and Order dated 1.8.1989 of the  Patna High Court in C.W.J.C. No. 5768 of 1989.     R.K.  Jain,  R.  Sharma, R.P. Sharma  and  Ms.  Sangeeta Tripathi for the Petitioners. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by     KANIA, J. This is one more case of an educational insti- tution  started  in the State of Bihar  without  recognition applying  for permission to allow the students, whom it  has admitted and, from whom it has presumably recovered substan- tial  fees, to be allowed to appear at the ensuing  examina- tion on the ground that the question of its recognition  has not  been  decided by the Government. It  appears  from  the judgment of the High Court that a number of similar mushroom institutions  have sprung up in the State of  Bihar  without prior  recognition,  have admitted students,  received  fees from  them and allowed them to undergo training for  a  sub- stantial period of time without getting any recognition  and thereafter tried to get permission from the Court for  their students  to  be  allowed to appear at  the  examination  on grounds of sympathy. This impression has been gathered  from a 25 number  of  similar applications made to this Court  in  the last few months.     It  is  not  possible to grant any  such  permission  as prayed for because the granting of such permission would  be clearly  violating the provisions of the Education Act  (See the judgments in S.L.P. No. 120 14 of 1987 decided on Novem- ber  25,  1987 and the A.P. Christians  Medical  Educational Society  v.  Government of A.P. & Anr., AIR  1986  SC  1490: [1986]  2  SCC  667. What is however,  unfortunate  is  that applications made by various educational institutions to the Government for recognition are not promptly disposed of.  In fact,  we are of the view that the concerned  department  of the  Government of Bihar should see to it that  applications for  recognition  of educational  institutions  are  decided promptly and where such an application is without merit, the Government should promptly reject the same and take steps to see to it that the rejection is brought to the attention  of the  students of the institution concerned so that they  may not  waste further time and money by undergoing training  in that institution. The failure of the Government to take such action would only reflect callous indifference to the inter- ests of the young students to whom the Government  certainly owes  certain responsibilities. We also feel that the  State Government should issue advertisement through newspapers and other possible channels, if any, to ensure that students  do not get misled by such unrecognised institutions into  wast-

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ing  their  precious time and money in  undergoing  training which  will be of no avail to them. We find that  there  ap- pears to be a large number of students in the State who  are misled  by  such  institutions. In fact,  the  State  should consider taking such steps, criminal or civil, as open to it in law to stop such institutions and those who run them from misleading students and deceiving them.     We  are informed that in the present case, the  applica- tion  for  recognition was made by the  petitioners  and  as early  as 1986 that application has not still been  disposed of.  We direct that, if this so, the application  should  be disposed of within 4 weeks from today.     In  these circumstances, we direct the State  Government of  Bihar to get published advertisements in at least  three newspapers  in  that  State with  wide  circulation  warning students  not to take admission in any educational  institu- tion which has not got recognition and making it clear  that if they do so, they would be doing so at their own risk. The advertisements to be issued within three weeks from the date of  receipt  of this order by the department  concerned.  We direct that the 26 copies of this order be sent forthwith to the Chief Minister of Bihar, the Minister in-charge of the Education Department and the Secretary of that department.     Special leave petition is dismissed with these  observa- tions. In case the application of the petitioners for recog- nition is granted, the Government will consider the granting of  appropriate  relief to the students in  respect  of  the years for which the recognition is concerned. R.S.S.                               Petition dismissed. 27