(Oral)
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri O.P.M. Tripathi appearing for NCTE.
2. This petition has been filed by the petitioner, praying for a direction to be issued to respondent no.2 to accept the soft copy as well as hard copy of the petitioner's application for ITEP Recognition Programme along with the fee, which has been refunded to the petitioner and to grant the same as 'no objection certificate' has already been granted by the State Government by its order dated 1.6.2019.
3. It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner had applied for recognition of ITEP Programme from respondent no.2 and had deposited the requisite fee on 31.7.2019 online. However, the fee has been refunded by the NCTE as the form could not be submitted in time as the server was not working.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that similar writ petitions were filed before this Court, the leading case of which, was Writ Petition No.21942 (MS) of 2019 (Heera Lal Yadav Memoral Trust of Education vs. State of U.P. and others). This Court disposed of the writ petitions on 20.9.2019 with certain directions.
5. The operative portion of the order passed by the coordinate Bench of this Court in the said writ petition on 20.9.2019 is being quoted hereinbelow:
"On instructions, Sri O.P.M. Tripathi states that a policy decision is taken by the NCTE to accept the documents and process the same with regard to the institutions which deposited the fee by 31.7.2019 i.e., the cut off date.
Since learned counsel for petitioner states that the fee was deposited within time, the petitioner is permitted to approach the NCTE within a week from today with all their documents along with proof of deposit of fee and on being satisfied, the NCTE may process their documents. In case it is found that the fee was deposited on or before 31.7.2019 but was thereafter refunded by NCTE, the NCTE shall again accept the fee by way of a demand within the aforesaid period of one week and process the documents of all such petitioners.
With the aforesaid, the writ petition is disposed of"
6. It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner being similar situated, this petition should also be disposed of in similar manner.
7. Learned counsel for the NCTE Sri O.P.M. Tripathi has submitted that in case the petitioner's fee has already been deposited by 31.7.2019 online, which is the cut-off date, then the order passed by this Court in similar cases can also be applied to the petitioner.
8. This writ petition is disposed of with a direction that the benefit of the order dated 20.9.2019 passed in Writ Petition No.21942 (MS) of 2019 be extended to the present petitioner by respondent no.2, in case the fee of the petitioner has already been deposited online by 31.7.2019.
Order Date :- 26.9.2019 Sachin