TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (8) TMI 1949
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....of by the High Court holding, that the Membership Certificate granted by the appellants could not be treated as equivalent to a Degree in Engineering. 2. The appellant, a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 is said to have been established to promote the profession and practice of Mechanical Engineering Professionals. Amongst its activities, it conducts bi-annual examinations known as Technician Engineers' Part-I and Part-II, Automobile Technician Engineers' Examination Part-I and Part-II, Production Technician Engineers' Part-I and Part-II, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician Engineers' Examination Part-I and Part-II and Section-A and Section-B of Associate Membership Examination in Mechanical Engineering. On successful completion of such examinations, the Certificate "Associate Member of Institution of Engineers" ('AMIE' for short) is awarded by the appellant. 3. The University Grants Commission Act, 1956 ("the UGC Act", for short) was enacted to make provisions for coordination and determination of standards in Universities and Section 2(f) defines University to mean " ... a University established or incorporated ....
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....y, architecture, town planning, management, pharmacy and applied arts and crafts and such other programmes or areas as the Central Government may, in consultation with the Council, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare; (h) "technical institution" means an institution, not being a University, which offers courses or programmes of technical education, and shall include such other institutions as the Central Government may, in consultation with the Council, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare as technical institutions;" Section 10 of the AICTE Act enumerates functions of the AICTE [All India Council for Technical Education] established under Section 3. Said Section 10 is as under :- 10. Functions of the Council. - It shall be the duty of the Council to take all such steps as it may think fit for ensuring coordinated and integrated development of technical education and maintenance of standards and for the purposes of performing its functions under this Act, the Council may - (a) undertake survey in the various fields of technical education, collect data on all related matters and make forecast of the needed growth and development ....
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....cation; (p) inspect or cause to inspect any technical institution; (q) withhold or discontinue grants in respect of courses, programmes to such technical institutions which fail to comply with the directions given by the Council within the stipulated period of time and take such other steps as may be necessary for ensuring compliance of the directions of the Council; (r) take steps to strengthen the existing organisations, and to set up new organisations to ensure effective discharge of the Council's responsibilities and to create positions of professional, technical and supporting staff based on requirements; (s) declare technical institutions at various levels and types offering courses in technical education fit to receive grants; (t) advise the Commission for declaring any institution imparting technical education as a deemed University; (u) set up a National Board of Accreditation to periodically conduct evaluation of technical institutions or programmes on the basis of guidelines, norms and standards specified by it and to make recommendation to it, or to the Council, or to the Commission or to other bodies, regarding ....
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....nt. 2. After giving a fair hearing to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India), Mumbai, the High Level committee took following decisions: (i) Recognition of Associated Membership Examination of Section A & B and Part-I and II of Technician Engineers Examination (T) of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India), Mum- bai for the purposes of employment under the Central Government stand withdrawn with im- mediate effect. (ii) Withdrawal of the recognition will be effective prospectively, i.e. students who have already got Section A & B and Part-I and II awards from IME (India), Mumbai will continue to be eligible for employment in Central Government. (iii) IME (India), Mumbai will be at liberty to approach the Ministry of Human Resources Development for recognition of awards granted by them for employment purposes in the Central Government as and when they remove all deficiencies with regard to revision and upgradation of curriculum, examination system, procedure for appointment and qualification of examiners, and other related issues, as pointed out by the Group constituted by the High Level Commit- tee." 8. The appellant challenge....
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....ad joined prior to the withdrawal of the recognition, be allowed to graduate. In view of this statement, learned senior counsel appearing for the Petitioner applies for withdrawal of the Special Leave Petition. The Special Leave Petition is allowed to be withdrawn." 9. Thereafter, the matter was re-examined and the recognition granted for its educational qualifications and enjoyed by the appellant was restored with effect from 16.10.2006 vide Notification dated 24.11.2006. The relevant part of the Notification was as under :- "The Institute of Mechanical Engineers(India), Mumbai has been running Section A & B of Association Membership course, equivalent to Degree in Mechanical Engineering since 1976, vide this Ministry's letter No.F.18-31/71-T.2 dated 28.05.1976 and Part I & Part II of Technical Engineers (T), equivalent to Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from a State Polytechnic, since 1988, vide this Ministry's letter No.F.1-5/87/T.7/T.13 dated 11.07.1988. In the year 2002, while withdrawing the recognition of these courses, Government of India allowed the IME (India), Mumbai to approach this Ministry for recognition of their Diploma/Degree courses ....
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....tting inter alia that number of study centres and illegal institutions were running in the State which were virtually selling Degrees and Diplomas and the petition prayed for appropriate reliefs holding Degrees and Diplomas awarded by such study centres/institutions to be invalid for government jobs. The appellant was not a party to this petition. Writ Petition (Civil) No.12909 of 2009 (Jagmohan Singh vs. State of Punjab and others) was filed in the High Court1 to which the appellant was a party and the petition prayed inter alia that the Certificate of Membership issued by the appellant be declared invalid for recruitment and promotion to the service concerning State affairs. An application was preferred by the appellant in said Writ Petition that the matter was covered by the earlier decision of the Division Bench of the High Court in "Tejinder Singh vs. Punjab State Electricity Board and others". Writ Petition (Civil)No.12909 of 2009 was thereafter disposed of by a consent order dated 06.07.2011 in terms of the earlier judgment in Tejinder Singh's case. A Review Application was, however, preferred against said consent order dated 06.07.2011 by original Respondent No.5 and....
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....s (India), Mumbai is recognized by the Government of India vide letter dated 06.10.1981, which was accepted by the Government of Punjab. In view of such finding, the writ petition was allowed, as the petitioner has obtained degree prior to its de- recognition in the year 2003. 208. A perusal of the Certificate relied upon by the petitioner in Tejinder Singh's case (supra) as also the present case (Annexure A-2) shows that the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (India), Mumbai is a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It appears that such institute is taking advantage of its similarity in name with the Institution of Engineers established under Royal Charter, as discussed above. The Institute of Mechanical Engineers (India), Mumbai is a registered Society and is thus a Technical Institution and is required to obtain approval from AICTE in respect of its courses in technical subjects. The membership of such institute cannot be treated as equivalent to a degree, as the candidate qualified from such institute cannot be said to be at par with the members of Institution of Engineers established under the Statute. 209. The distinction between....
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.... the notification dated 26.11.2006, the students such as respondent No.5 registered prior to 10.06.2002 have been allowed to complete the course with pre-revised syllabus till the next scheduled examination to be held in December, 2006 and those, who do not complete their courses by that time will have to follow the revised syllabus. Since respondent No.5 is not said to have completed course in terms of notification dated 24.11.2006, he cannot claimed to be a degree-holder entitled to be promoted. We may state that such notification can be treated as a qualification recognized by Government of India for the purpose of employment. Thus, we find that respondent No.5 is not qualified to claim that such certificate is equivalent to a degree. 213. In view of the above, CWP No.12909 of 2009 is allowed and CWP No.9200 of 2012 claiming the qualification from Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India), Mumbai as equivalent to degree is dismissed." 13. On 06.12.2012 in modification of its earlier communication dated 10.07.2012, a Notification was issued by the Central Government, the relevant part of which was as under :- "i. Above order dated 10.07.2012 regarding cases....
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....- "10. Learned senior counsel for the petitioners submit that at this stage the Court should grant protection to the petitioners to the extent that the deadline of 31.5.2013 should not come in their way of granting admissions and also leaving the fate of the students in uncertainty, more particularly, for the reasons that the institutions are not aware as to the criteria what they have to met. 11. I have heard counsel for the parties and considered their submissions. Having regard to the stand taken by counsel for the parties, the O.M. dated 6.12.2012 qua the petitioners only with respect to the deadline of 31.5.2013 shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing, however, it is made clear that the admissions, which are made, will be subject to final orders, which will be passed in the writ petition." 16. The appellant also challenged the Notification dated 06.12.2012 by filing Writ Petition No.7840 of 2014 in the High Court of Delhi in which following order was passed by a Single Judge on 19.11.2014 :- "Keeping in view the interim order dated 23rd May, 2013 in W.P.(C) No.3239/2013 as well as order dated 06th August, 2013 in W.P. (C) No.945/2013, th....
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....ications moved by various other parties seeking clarification of the decision dated 03.11.2017, were dealt with by this Court in its order dated 22.01.2018 [(2018) 2 SCC 298]. 21. Thereafter an application for clarification and modification of the decision of this Court dated 03.11.2017 was preferred by the appellant praying for following reliefs :- "(a) Clarify that the Final Judgment dated 03.11.2017 does not apply to Civil Appeal No.17922 of 2017 arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.15283 of 2013. (b) De-tag the Civil Appeal No.17922 of 2017 arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.15283 of 2017 filed by the Applicant herein, and list it for hearing; and/or c) Modify paragraph 55 of the Judgment to the extent that the view taken by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in so far as it relates to the Applicant herein (i.e. paragraphs 205-2013) is set aside." 22. The matter came up before the Registrar of this Court who refused to register the application holding that the application for clarification/modification was intended to seek review of the judgment dated 03.11.2017 passed by this Court. The order of the Registrar is present....
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....v Mehta, learned Senior Advocate for the appellant, Mr. Karan Bharihoke, learned Advocate for the State, Mr. Ajit Kumar Sinha, learned Senior Advocate for MHRD3, Mr. Harish Pandey, learned Advocate for AICTE2, apart from Mr. C. A. Sundaram, learned Amicus Curiae. 24. According to the learned Amicus Curiae, the instant matter was completely covered by the decision of this Court in Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation case (supra). He submitted that the stand of the appellant itself was that neither any education was imparted by the appellant nor did it possess any infrastructure. The following portion from written submission filed by the appellant was relied upon :- "That the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India), Mumbai is a non-profit organization, registered as a Society. It receives no grant-in-aid or funding of any nature whatsoever, from the Central or any State Government or any of its autonomous or statutory bodies by whatever name. It is not and has never been a teaching institution. It is a "professional body" and merely conducts examinations in specialized engineering discipline-Mechanical Engineering and awards certificates to its member. The mode of cond....
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....nication dated 10.07.2012 and public notice issued in August, 2017 put the matter beyond any doubt in so far as certificates issued prior to 2013 were concerned and as regards period subsequent thereto the matter was still engaging the attention of the concerned authorities. In the circumstances it was submitted that the High Court was not justified in observing that the certificates of Membership granted by the appellant could not be treated as equivalent to degrees in engineering and as such Civil Appeal No.17922 of 2017 preferred by the appellant be allowed. 26. Mr. Mehta, learned Senior Advocate also produced on record a compilation titled, "Methodology, Norms and the Curriculum that are followed for various programs conducted by the Institution IME (India)" Following extracts from said compilation are quite relevant :- "Functions of Examinations Committee: the IME examinations are conducted under the supervision of an Examination Committee and by the Controller of Examinations. The Examination Committee is appointed by the Council to frame the academic rules, revise the syllabuses on the advice of Advisors or the Subject Experts Committee, overview the conduct of t....
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....e Universities, in India and abroad, treating at par with diploma in mechanical engineering. The students who acquire the qualification from IME can apply for jobs either in state government, central government, government undertaking or in private sector and people in service, on acquiring the IME qualification can get the benefit of promotion, if applicable." ..................................... "Syllabus of Various Examinations: The IME syllabus is regularly subjected to revision regularly. The syllabus submitted to the AICTE through the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India in 2005, which was approved and the IME was granted permanent permission to enroll the students and conducts the examinations, was based on the following principles: ● It was based on model syllabus of AICTE ● It incorporated the compulsory provision of conducting practicals in an AICTE approved institution for a period of six months and writing a practical & project report and submitting the evaluation report. ● A student is required to appear in total of 6 papers in Part I of T. Eng; 5 Part II of T. Eng; 12 in S....
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....minations, after passing all the theory papers. The candidate will have to obtain prior approval of the IME for the choice of the institution, referee and topic for the project work. The rules for the practical training and projects are displayed on the website and given in the syllabus booklet. The IME has signed the MOU with more than 100 institutions in different regions for the practical training and Project work, the list is given at Enclosure C." ............. ........... "No Local Centres and not Conducting Coaching Classes: The institution does not recognize, allows or conduct any coaching classes or local centre helping the candidates appearing in the examinations. The complete information is provided online and the candidate can contact the help line for any clarification. The candidates are also advised through the website of the institution to be aware of any such person or institution or coaching centre. Further, the students are also regularly advised that it is neither necessary nor required nor mandatory to submit the membership/examination/enrolment form through coaching institutes." .............. "Academic Act....
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....hnical education leading to the award of degrees in Engineering consists of imparting of lessons in theory as well as practicals. The practicals form the backbone of such education which is hands-on approach involving actual application of principles taught in theory under the watchful eyes of Demonstrators or Lecturers. Face to face imparting of knowledge in theory classes is to be reinforced in practical classes. The practicals thus, constitute an integral part of the technical education system." 16. While the courses for which degree/diploma is given by these professional bodies is not exactly on distance mode, but in view of the findings of the gap analysis of AICTE, it is observed that the quality of courses conducted by these professional bodies is even worse than that conducted by the Open and Distance learning Institutes. As engineering is a subject, which requires intensive practical and workshop training and these professional bodies compromise on that very aspect, giving equivalency to the courses conducted by these bodies leads not only to compromise in the standard of education, but also adversely affects the future of students/participants of these courses. ....
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....ing before the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi and this valuable legal right including the right of appeal cannot be taken away." 30. At the outset, it must be stated that Civil Appeal No.17922 of 2017 preferred by the appellant stood disposed of by this Court on 03.11.2017. No submissions were advanced on behalf of the appellant at the time the entire group of matters was heard and considered by this Court. In our view, the Registrar of this Court was right in refusing to register Application for Clarification and Modification preferred by the appellant. However, since the record did not clearly indicate whether the Review Application was allowed by the High Court after hearing the appellant, in the interest of justice, the appellant was permitted to raise all the submissions on merits and we now proceed to consider the entire matter. 31. On its own showing, the appellant "does not impart any education but merely conducts bi-annual examinations and awards certificates". The compilation referred to in paragraph 26 hereinabove also makes the position clear that the appellant "does not recognize, allow or conduct any coaching classes or local centres helping the candidates appe....
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....eet the developmental requirements; and promoting and effecting link between technical education and systems and other relevant systems. AICTE is thus the sole repository of power to lay down parameters or qualitative norms for "technical education". What should be course content, what subjects be taught and what should be the length and duration of the courses as well as the manner in which those courses be conducted is a part of the larger concept of "technical education". Any idea or innovation in that field is also a part of the concept of "technical education" and must, as a matter of principle, be in the exclusive domain of AICTE. ... ... ... 48. Technical education leading to the award of degrees in Engineering consists of imparting of lessons in theory as well as practicals. The practicals form the backbone of such education which is hands- on approach involving actual application of principles taught in theory under the watchful eyes of demonstrators or lecturers. Face to face imparting of knowledge in theory classes is to be reinforced in practical classes. The practicals, thus, constitute an integral part of the technical education system. If this estab....
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....ional Policy of Education and the concerned Regulations of AICTE2 as under :- "23.2. In 1986, National Policy on Education was published by the Government of India, Part VI of which dealt with Technical and Management Education, Paras 6.6, 6.8 and 6.19 of the Policy were :- "6.6. In view of the present rigid entry requirements to formal courses restricting the access of a large segment of people to technical and managerial education, programmes through a distance learning process, including use of the mass media will be offered. Technical and management education programmes, including education in polytechnics, will also be on a flexible modular pattern based on credits, with provision for multi-point entry. A strong guidance and counselling service will be provided. * * * 6.8. Appropriate formal and non-formal programmes of technical education will be devised for the benefit of women, the economically and socially weaker sections, and the physically handicapped. * * * 6.19. The All India Council for Technical Education, which has been given statutory status, will be responsible for planning, formulation and maintenance of norms and standar....
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....rses could be introduced. The consistent stand taken by the AICTE was also noted in said judgment. 35. The point in question was again dealt with in the Order dated 22.01.2018 in paras 23 and 24 and it was stressed that conferral of degrees in Engineering through distance education mode was never approved in principle by AICTE. The appellant does not even claim to be imparting any education through distance education mode and only conducts bi-annual examination and awards certificates to those who qualify such examination. Considered in the light of the decision of this Court in Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation case, the learned Amicus Curiae is right in his submission that the case of the appellant would be on a footing lower than the cases of deemed to be Universities as dealt with in that decision. 36. The consistent stand of the appellant has been that it is not covered under any of the Acts viz. the UGC Act, Indira Gandhi National Open University Act, 1985 and the AICTE Act. However, since it offers courses or programmes of technical education, as rightly held by the High Court, the appellant comes within the definition of "technical institution" as defined in the AICT....
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.... to degrees in Engineering in respect of Certificates awarded by it, the appellant is entitled to continue having such benefit or advantage. There is nothing on record either in the form of any statutory provision or any statutory regulations or any scheme under which such equivalence could be granted by the MHRD. It appears that claims made by various institutions like appellant were considered on case to case basis and equivalence was granted by MHRD. The first of those communications was of the year 1976 when AICTE Act was not in force. If the mandate of Section 22 disentitles any authority or person other than those specified in Section 22 (1) to award degrees, there is no power or authority in any one including MHRD to award such equivalence. 39. The principle that what cannot be done directly cannot be achieved indirectly is well settled and was elaborated by this Court in following decisions :- A) In State of Tamil Nadu and Others v. K. Shyam Sunder and Others [(2011) 8 SCC 737] as under :- "VI. What cannot be done directly-cannot be done indirectly 43. "21. It is a settled proposition of law that what cannot be done directly, is not permissible....
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....ant would certainly be entitled to award Certificate of Membership to its Members. What weightage the Certificates must have is for the individual employers to consider in a given case. The concerned employer may attach due importance to such Certificates while considering the worth and ability of the concerned candidates but to say that the Certificates are equivalent to a degree and as such all the candidates who hold such Certificates are entitled to derive the advantages which a degree holder can, is completely a different issue. 41. In the present case, the communication dated 26.05.1976 under which the Certificate issued by the appellant was recognized to be equivalent to a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from a recognized Indian University, does not indicate any statutory provision under which such equivalence could be granted or conferred. This point becomes more crucial, as after the enactment of AICTE Act, the entirety of the field concerning "technical education" is kept in the domain of AICTE by the Parliament. Section 10 of the AICTE Act entitles AICTE not only to lay down norms and standards for courses, curriculum and such other facets of "technical education" bu....