SC stays T.N. order on admission to deemed varsities

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 20. The Supreme Court today stayed an order passed by the Tamil Nadu Government bringing five deemed universities in the State within the purview of single window system (SWS) of admission to engineering/medical colleges for 2001-2002.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising the Chief Justice, Dr. A.S. Anand, Mr. Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr. Justice P. Venkatarama Reddi, granted the interim stay while admitting special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the deemed universities, the Centre and the University Grants Commission challenging the judgement of the Madras High Court dated August 6 upholding the G.O. issued by the State Government on July 3.

The Bench after hearing the counsel for the appellant universities, the Centre and the UGC also stayed related directions issued by various authorities asking the deemed universities to admit over 2,000 students allotted to them under the SWS by August 13.

Mr. Harish Salve, Solicitor-General, arguing for the Centre submitted that once deemed university status was given to an educational institution, the admission procedure was adopted by that university on an all-India basis either through the UGC or an agency authorised by the UGC.

He submitted that if the State Government was allowed to impose its admission criteria on these deemed universities, then the essence of declaring the institution as a deemed university would be nullified.

On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Government, senior counsel, Mr. K.K. Venugopal, submitted that if students already allocated to these institutions were not allowed to join, they would be stranded on the streets.

By an order dated July 3, the State Government asked the five deemed universities to admit students on the basis of SWS. A Division Bench of the Madras High Court upheld the order on August 6. Against this order, SLPs were filed by Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA) and four others seeking to set aside the impugned judgment and an interim stay of its operation and the related orders passed by the State Government and its authorities.

The SLPs assailed the High Court judgment on the ground that it ran counter to the law laid by the apex court in the `Unnikrishnan case' which had treated a ``deemed university on par with a university'' in the matter of admission as per its own `scheme' and award degrees.

The action of the Tamil Nadu Government was illegal and contrary to the provisions of the UGC Act and the orders of the apex court, the SLPs contended and prayed for setting aside the impugned judgment and an interim stay of its operation.

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Section  : National
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