The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Petition seeks approval for private law college in Vellore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Petition seeks approval for private law college in Vellore

Special Correspondent

High Court orders notice to government and law varsity

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the State Government and the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, on a writ petition filed by a private institution seeking approval to start a self-financing law college in Vellore district.

Justice V. Dhanapalan ordered notices to the Law Secretary, the university and the Bar Council of India on the petition filed by Sri Swarna Vinayagar Educational Charitable and Rural Welfare Trust, on Tuesday.

The petitioner sought a direction to the BCI to process its application and grant approval for starting a private self-financing law college by conducting appropriate inspection to assess the infrastructure as per the BCI norms and guidelines, without insisting on a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the State Government.

It also sought to quash two separate orders of the Law Secretary, passed in February and April 2007, refusing NOC for the institution. The impugned orders contended that the petitioner’s application for NOC would be considered at an appropriate time along with others as per law.

Assailing the decision, the petitioner-institution said the rejection on the ground of policy considerations was contrary to the judgments of the Supreme Court and that the State Government was not justified in taking such a policy decision.

“The State can always impose regulatory measures on the functioning of the colleges,” it said, adding that the petitioner-institution had in place all infrastructure and instructional amenities.

Noting that the State was statutorily bound to consider the petitioner’s claims on merits, it said that if the State Government was unable to consider the plea in the absence of guidelines, then the petitioner was entitled to having its proposal considered and approved by the BCI without even the State’s NOC.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu