HC dismisses plea opposing varsity's affiliation to colleges

Madurai: A petition that sought the quashing of a draft circular by Manomaniam Sundaranar University pertaining to the granting of affiliation to new courses and continuing the same for existing courses in various colleges, affiliated to it, was dismissed by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court, on Monday.
Justice M Venugopal had in June stayed the circular on the petition filed by S Subbaraju, one of the syndicate members of the university and associate professor of Thiruvalluvar College in Papanasam.He accused the university of violating the provisions of its own Act. He said that as per the Act, it is the syndicate which has the power to constitute a committee and inspection commission for the purpose of granting affiliation. But, contrary to the Act, the vice-chancellor did it, the petitioner said.
Seeking response from the university, the judge adjourned the case. Accordingly, the registrar filed a counter. After hearing, the judge said, the vice-chancellor had not filed a counter and even the petition to vacate the stay was filed by the registrar.
"It is to be remembered that in law, a party to the proceedings/ litigation must take each fact, which is alleged against him separately and to state whether he admits it or denies it or even does not admit. More specifically, a denial must be made by a party," said the judge.
On perusal of the draft circular the court came to an irresistible and inevitable conclusion that the writ petition was per se not maintainable.
"It is because of the simple reason that the draft circular can't be construed as an order and also it is not a final expression of opinion in the subject matter in issue. The draft circular and agenda item are materials praying for approval of the concerned members and they are not the outcome of a final opinion deliberation/ discussion in the subject matter in issue. It can either be accorded approval or even rejected by the members of the syndicate. Thus, the petition fails," the judge said.
The court also made it clear that since the petition was not maintainable, it had not gone into the merits of the controversies centring around the petition.
The judge also said, "The court fervently opines that it is quite palatable/ desirable for the vice-chancellor to follow the ingredients of the University Act and statues, as far as practicable/ possible/ feasible so as to avoid cropping up of unnecessary litigation."