Bombay High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of S.C. Gupte, J., addressed a petition in which challenge was made to the order of University and College Tribunal, Mumbai whereby the respondents’ appeal against there termination of service was allowed.
The facts of the case were that, the petitioner being a trust used to run a physical education college, in which the respondents who had challenged the order of termination of services by the petitioners were the teachers. On enforcement of National Council for Teacher Education Act 1993 (NCTE), the Western Region Committee addressed a letter to the Registrar of University of Mumbai for recognition of institutions conducting physical education courses. The petitioner’s college was subjected to a show cause notice asking on why their college should be given recognition. Further, even after a reply being submitted on behalf of the petitioners they refused the status of being recognised.
Aggrieved by the same, the petitioners approached the appellate authority of the NCTE, Western Region for reconsideration. However, there was neither an order for stay on the refusal order of recognition nor were the petitioners permitted to start the college. Therefore, on recognising all the circumstances and non-recognition of the college due to which the college had to be shut down the termination orders were issued to the staff including Respondents.
The High Court on noting the facts and circumstances of the case, and in response to the Tribunal’s move of reinstating the terminated respondents, by relying on Section 92 of the Maharashtra Universities Act, held that the said section does not get attracted for seeking permission from the State Government as the subject of ‘recognition’ falls under the scope of Section 14 of the NCTE. The court relied on State of Maharashtra v. Sant Dnyaneshwar Shikshan Shastra Mahavidyalaya, (2006) 9 SCC 1 for the same. Hence, on the pertinent fact that no order of stay on the original order of refusal of recognition was issued, the college was not faulty in any manner and the order of Tribunal falling under serious error of jurisdiction was liable to be struck down. [President, Mulund Gymkhana v. Nagarkar Ajit Chandrakant,2018 SCC OnLine Bom 2122, Order dated 19-07-2018]
