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Chandigarh: HC imposes ₹20-lakh fine on Fazilka college, NCTE
The Fazilka-based BEd college had approached the high court in 2022, seeking a direction to Panjab University to grant affiliation and permit their college to hold admissions for BEd course for the academic session 2022-23; however, the court found that the university never granted any affiliation to the college and the NCTE granted conditional recognition, which was prohibited by the Supreme Court
The Punjab and Haryana high court has imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh each on a Fazilka-based BEd college and the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) for granting conditional recognition in violation of a Supreme Court order.
The college run by Syon Educational and Welfare Society had approached the high court in 2022, seeking a direction to Panjab University to grant affiliation and permit their college to hold admissions for BEd course for the academic session 2022-23.
In August 2022, the high court had allowed the college to admit students, who completed their two-year course in May 2024, followed by the result in July.
However, the court found that the university never granted any affiliation to the college and the NCTE granted conditional recognition, which was prohibited by the Supreme Court.
The apex court has categorically held that no conditional recognition shall be granted by the NCTE, it added.
Further, it did not take any steps to apprise the court of the deficiencies which the college continued to be plagued with. The students were allowed to conclude their course and the NCTE did not make any efforts to either vacate the interim orders passed by high court in August 2022 or bring the fact, about the college not having completed the conditions subject to which the conditional recognition was granted, in the knowledge of the court all this while.
The court, however, said in the given scenario, it was left with no option and was allowing regularisation of admissions in students’ interest to save their future.
But added that certain observations and directions deserve to be passed against the college and NCTE.
“The career of the students has been put to peril by conjoint act of the NCTE and the petitioner-college who appear to be hand in glove,” the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Anil Kshetarpal observed, further directing that the admission of the students who were admitted after court orders of August 2022 be regularised and appropriate degrees be issued by the university.
“The NCTE is creature of a statute which is obliged to stay away from arbitrariness, favouritism or discrimination. In the present case, the NCTE has left no stone unturned to demonstrate that it was hand in glove with the petitioner college not only by grant of conditional recognition which was prohibited at the relevant point of time but also by not taking any steps to apprise this court of the deficiencies which the petitioner college continued to be plagued with. The conditions subject to which recognition was granted were also not fulfilled by the petitioner college,” it recorded.
The court further noted that director, northern regional committee, NCTE, was summoned before the court in October 2023 and the courtwas assured the 2012 order of apex court would be kept in mind while considering such cases.
“(But) the NCTE did not take any steps to inform this court of deficiencies by filing an application for vacating the interim orders pursuant to which the admissions were made,” the court said, adding that in view of this, it was constrained to saddle the NCTE with exemplary costs of ₹10 lakh to be recovered from the erring officers after conducting enquiries.
The court also ordered since the facts and circumstances clearly reveal that the college was hand in glove with the NCTE, it would also deposit ₹10 lakh as cost. Both have been asked to deposit the cost to the PGIMER Poor Patient Welfare Fund within 60 days.
