Dismissal of a special leave petition does not, by itself, merge...

Dismissal of a special leave petition does not, by itself, merge the High Court decision into the Supreme Court order or create a binding Supreme Court adjudication on exemption of affiliation fees. Applying the doctrine stated in Kunhayammed, the note records that the earlier dismissal did not establish the claimed exemption. It further explains that a challenge to a Division Bench reference order is premature where residual issues have been remanded to a Single Judge. The petitioner may challenge any prejudicial subsequent order together with the reference decision, while a favourable intervening Supreme Court ruling may be placed before the Single Judge and would prevail over the reference finding.

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