Affiliation to colleges is university's jurisdiction: SC

New Delhi, July 2: The Supreme Court has held that the issue of granting affiliation to a college is exclusively within the domain of the university concerned and courts have no role in the matter.

Petitioners Laxmi Sharmaand and Himalaya Ayurvedic Medical College at Kanpur had challenged judgment of the Allahabad High Court which had held that there was no scope for provisional affiliation under the Uttar Pradesh University Act.

Earlier, Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj University had granted provisional affiliation to Himalaya Ayurvedic Medical College.

and others to grant permanent affiliation to the college.

Between 1992-95, students were admitted by the college authorities without being affiliated to any recognised university and so they were not allowed to appear for the Bachelor of Ayrvedic Medicine/Surgery (BAMS) examinations conducted by the university.

The Uttar Pradesh government had appointed a committee to inspect the college. It found that the college had all the required infrastructure for being granted affiliation.

After being granted provisional affiliation by the university, students were allowed to appear for the examinations.

A bench comprising Mr Justice A R Lakshmanan and Mr Justice Altamas Kabir directed the university to declare the results of 23 students who have completed their five year courses. However, they said this direction would not be treated as a precedence.

''The court has no doubt that mushrooming educational institutions without having the requisite infrastructure for grant of recognition are harmful to the interest of students.'' ''We agree with the view expressed by the Allahabad High Court that it is not for the court to direct the authorities concerned to grant affiliation as that would amount to trespassing the jurisdiction of the university,'' the apex court said.

UNI