Court No. - 33
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 42693 of 2016 Petitioner :- C/M Sri Uma Maheshwar Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Amar Nath Pandey Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Manoj Misra,J.
Heard Sri Ashok Khare, learned Senior Counsel, assisted by Sri Amar Nath Pandey, for the petitioners; learned Standing Counsel for the respondents 1 to 4; and perused the record.
The petitioner had submitted a claim for its institution to be brought on the grant-in-aid list of the State. One of the conditions for availing such benefit was that the institution must have permanent affiliation and should be possessed of land. It appears that earlier the claim of the petitioner was rejected under the belief that the petitioner institution did not have permanent affiliation. Against rejection, Writ-C No.15968 of 2015 was filed, which was disposed of by order dated 20.07.2015 requiring the Registrar of the University to consider and decide the representation of the petitioner. Whereafter, the Registrar vide order dated 08.09.2015 certified that the institution would be deemed to have permanent recognition since 20.08.1999. The petitioner thereafter filed fresh representation and when no heed was paid, Writ-C No.67095 of 2015 was filed which was disposed of by order dated 15.12.2015 after noticing the case of the petitioner that by order of the Registrar, dated 08.09.2015, it was certified that the institution would be deemed to have recognition since 20th August, 1999. The writ court, accordingly, gave liberty to the petitioner, vide order dated 15.12.2015, to approach the first respondent (the Secretary (Sanskrit Education Department), U.P.) in respect of its claim with direction to the first respondent to decide the matter in accordance with law after taking into consideration the order of the Registrar of the University dated 08.09.2015.
It is the case of the petitioner that pursuant to the liberty given by this Court, vide order dated 15.12.2105 passed in Writ-C No.67095 of 2015, the petitioner had submitted its claim before the first respondent which has again been rejected by the impugned order dated 06th June, 2016 by observing that the institution does not have permanent affiliation with the University and that it is not possessed of any land.
The order impugned has been challenged on the ground that the first respondent has failed to accord consideration to the order of the Registrar of the University dated 08.09.2015 which ought to have been considered pursuant to the direction given by this Court vide order dated 15.12.2015 in Writ-C No.67095 of 2015. It has also been submitted that the first respondent omitted to consider the report of the Joint Director, Varanasi Region, Varanasi dated 04.04.2016 which had enclosed an inspection note indicating that the institution had 31 decimal land in its possession of which a certificate was also appended. It has been submitted that under the circumstances the order impugned has been passed in ignorance of material on record and is therefore vitiated.
On the averments made in the writ petition as also the submission made, this Court had required the learned Standing Counsel, who had accepted notice on behalf of the respondents, to file counter affidavit within four weeks and thereafter on 25.01.2018 order was passed giving four weeks and no more further time to file counter affidavit.
Despite the order dated 25.01.2018, the State respondents have not filed any counter affidavit. However, the learned Standing Counsel, who appears for the respondents, has submitted that the matter may be remitted back to the first respondent to pass a fresh order after considering all the relevant aspects in accordance with the earlier direction of this Court dated 15.12.2015 passed in Writ-C No.67095 of 2015.
In absence of counter affidavit, despite stop order, the Court is constrained to hold that the order dated 06th June, 2016 passed by the first respondent rejecting the claim of the petitioner is in ignorance of the order dated 08.09.2015 of the Registrar of the University as also the report submitted by the Joint Director and is therefore vitiated. Accordingly, the impugned order is liable to be set aside and is, accordingly, set aside.
The first respondent shall pass a fresh order on the claim of the petitioner after considering all the relevant aspects, and in accordance with the earlier direction of this Court dated 15.12.2015 in Writ-C No.67095 of 2015, preferably, within a period of six weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order. For the said purpose, the first respondent may call for report from the University concerned as also from the departments concerned.
The petition stands allowed to the extent indicated above.
Order Date :- 26.2.2018/AKShukla/-