Kasturi Shikshan Sanstha Institute Of Managaemnet v. All India Council For Technical Education And ORS

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.2454 OF 2021 Kasturi Shikshan Sanstha's Institution of Management

...Petitioner

V/s.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) & Ors.

...Respondents

Mr.Tejas Dande with Mr.Bharat Gadhavi i/b Tejash Dande & Associates for the Petitioner.

Mr.Abhijeet A. Joshi with Ms.Varsha Sawant and Mr.Swapnil Jadhav for Respondent Nos.1 and 2.

Mrs.P.J. Gavhane, AGP for the State - Respondent No.3. CORAM : R.D. DHANUKA & A.K. MENON, JJ.

DATE : 23RD AUGUST, 2021.

P.C. :- 1.

By this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks an order and direction against the respondent no.1 to accept and process the application of the petitioner for Extension of Approval 2021-2022 for the Institution of Management (Post Graduate MBA Course) conducted by the petitioner and seeks further direction to include the name of the 1/3

present petitioner's Institute Management in the Centralized Admission Process for the academic year 2021-2022. 2.

There is no dispute that the last extended date for filing the application online was on 29th April, 2021 with payment of penalty. Only in the month of June, 2021, the petitioner requested for acceptance of the application form which was rejected by the respondent no.1.

3.

The reasons for delay in the petition are not acceptable for the reasons that even during the pandemic period, 700 number of institutions from the rural area of Maharashtra had submitted their applications to the AICTE portal before the original deadline and 3408 number of Institutions submitted their applications before the extended deadline. The respondent no.1 had issued the advertisement in several newspapers on 13th April, 2021 intimating that the application based on the self declaration could be submitted online on 29th April, 2021 with penalty.

4.

In view of number of applications having been filed within the time prescribed or within the extended period even from the rural areas of Maharashtra, we are not inclined to accept the reasons recorded in the petition for not filing the application even within the extended period of filing the application on or before 29th April, 2021. 2/3

5.

The petition is devoid of merit and is accordingly dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. (A.K. MENON, J.) (R.D. DHANUKA, J.) 3/3