Commissioner pulled over ITI recognition row

By S A Ishaqui

Hyderabad,June 30: The Andhra Pradesh High Court pulled up the commissioner of employment and training, and the commissioner for social welfare department for cancelling the recognition of five industrial training institutes without following procedure.

Justice Nooty Rammohana Rao allowed a batch of writ petitions by imposing costs of Rs 5,000 on the respondents and set aside the orders of the commissioner employment and training cancelling the recognition of the ITIs.

Laurel Industrial Training Centre, Hanumakonda, Victor Industrial Training Centre, Kazipet, Lesley Industrial Training Centre, Warangal, Lilian Industrial Trying Centre, and Hazrat Industrial Training Centre filed the writ petitions challenging the orders passed on October 27, 2008.

The authorities cancelled the recognition on the ground that the institutes allegedly misappropriated scholarship amount worth Rs 63.15 lakh during 1994-95. The authorities issued orders based on the allegation levelled by the additional director-general of Crime Investigation Department.

The judge said: “A mere look at this order reveals that the authority did not apply his mind for more than one reason. The reason for his conclusion was that the explanation of the petitioner institute was not convincing. It is a mere conclusion and not a reason by itself. Every conclusion must be rested on reason and material.”

Referring to the petitioners’ contentions that the principal secretary of the social welfare department had released a press statement on an earlier occasion clarifying that there was no misappropriation of scholarship money sanctioned by the department, the judge said: “One fails to understand as to why the petitioners are being proceeded against in the face of such official statement.”

The judge found fault with the attitude of the officials saying that both the commissioners did not bother to find out whether the CID has gathered any material prima facie to support the view that these institutions were involved in alleged offence.

The judge directed the authorities to consider the cases of the petitioners afresh as petitioners should not be denied justice as the new academic year begins.

Minority groups can hold tests


The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday permitted the consortium of Christian minority professional education institutions to conduct an entrance test on their own to facilitate admission into MCA, MBA and some post-graduate courses.

A division bench comprising Justice Ghulam Mohammed and Justice Vilas V. Afzulpurkar, passed the orders while dealing with a petition filed by the consortium. The bench permitted the consortium to conduct the entrance for MCA and MBA course on July 4 and PG entrance course on July 6, 7 and 8.

The court instructed the consortium to valuate the answer sheets and announce the ranks as per the orders issued by the government earlier.

The petitioners alleged that the authorities did not act in a fair manner in preventing them from conducting entrance test. They told the court that the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC), which was constituted for regulating the admissions in private un-aided professional colleges had passed orders on June 28 restraining the consortium from conducting further tests.

The petitioners contended that the authorities cannot take such drastic step in view of the Supreme Court judgment which permitted such a separate entrance test by the consortium.