Delhi High Court: In a milestone judgment deciding the fate of lakhs of students who were being duped by the famous Management Institute namely, Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), falsely claiming to provide a MBA degree recognised by UGC and AICTE, a division Bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R. S. Endlaw has passed directions not only restraining IIPM and its Dean Arindam Chaudhuri from using the words such as MBA, BBA, Management school, Business School or B-school in relation to the courses offered by them, but has also directed the Institute to prominently display on its website that they are not recognized by any statutory body. It was also said that IIPM should also display the status of the Foreign University or its Degree/Certificate in the country of its origin and whose Degree/Certificate the students enrolling in the Course/Programme offered by the Institute would be entitled to.
Briefly stated the facts of the case are that a PIL was filed by the petitioner flagging the issue that the respondents Union of India (UOI), the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had failed to take action against respondent IIPM by allowing the Institute through its Dean Arindam Chaudhuri to fraudulently use “MBA/BBA” for the courses offered by it, thus misleading and cheating students under the belief that they will acquire the qualification of MBA/BBA.
Senior counsel for the petitioner, A.J. Bhambhani contended that in an earlier order dt. 02-12-2013 in the present writ petition, UGC had found that IIPM’s advertisement mislead the students and public and they should stop issuing dubious advertisements to attract students. In the same order, IIPM had stated that it shall not print/publish/issue any advertisement in any newspaper/website/television without Court’s approval. However, it had violated the order by displaying the advertisements on its website for admissions to MBA/BBA programmes, 2014. Also, IIPM had confessed in an earlier order dt. 27-06-2008 in WP(C) No.4567/2008, that it is not affiliated with IMI, Belgium but its advertisements convey otherwise.
Recognising the fact that the petition was on the subject of education being turned into business of misleading students and yet it had been pending for four years, the Court has restrained IIPM form using the words MBA, BBA etc in its courses and directed the Institute to display the present judgment on its website within one week hereof to bring the same to the attention of visitors on their website. The view taken by the Court in this judgment would not relieve IIPM or its Dean from any action which may be taken by any other person who may have been lured by the advertisements made in violation of the statement given to the Court on 02-12-2013. B. Mahesh Sharma v. Union of India, W.P.(C) 5937/2010, decided on 26-09-2014
