R. K. Agrawal, J. - (1.) -The present special appeal has been filed by the Chairman and the Principal of Sri Gopichand College of Pharmacy and Management, Ahera, district Baghpat, challenging the judgment and order dated 7.2. 2002 passed by the learned single Judge in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 24130 of 2001, whereby the writ petition filed by respondent Nos. 1 to 15 has been allowed and a writ of mandamus was issued to the respondent Nos. 2 to 4, i.e., the present appellants and the Chairman of Ram Ish Institute, NOIDA, district Ghaziabad to comply with the order of the Vice Chancellor dated 31.5.2001 within a period of three weeks.
(2.) BRIEFLY stated the facts giving rise to the present special appeal are as follows : "According to the respondents-writ petitioners, they have appeared in the Uttar Pradesh, State Engineering Admission Test, 1999 (in short U. P. SEAT 99) for getting admission in B. Pharma 1st year course conducted by the Institute of Engineering and Technology, U. P. Lucknow. They qualified in the said admission test and were allotted free seats. The admission committee allotted them Sri Gopichand College of Pharmacy and Management, Baghpat (hereinafter referred to as the Baghpat College). According to the respondents-writ petitioners after depositing the requisite amount relating to admission fee, examination fee and other expenses, they were granted admission in the said college. It may be mentioned here that at the time when the admissions were granted to the respondents writ petitioners, the Baghpat College was affiliated with Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut. It is alleged that after getting admissions, they were being harassed by the college authorities. They completed 1st year B. Pharma Course and appeared in the examination. The students for the year 1999-2000 and 2000-01 took recourse to the path of agitation against the mis-management and harassment meted out to them. They made complaints to the Vice Chancellor, Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, as also to the State Government. It appears that on the basis of the complaints/ representations made by the petitioners, the State Government directed the District Magistrate, Baghpat, to hold an enquiry in the matter, who submitted his report. On the basis of the said report, the State Government directed to transfer those students of 1st year B. Pharma course of the Baghpat college to other institutions according to the options given by the students in accordance with merit on the basis of the marks obtained in the first year examination. The State Government further gave instructions for giving protection to the students. A tripartite meeting was held by the Vice-Chancellor of Ch. Charan Singh University on 31.5.2001 in which the Chairman and Director of Baghpat college and Ram Ish Institute, NOIDA, (hereinafter referred to as the NOIDA Institute) participated and it was unanimously, decided that 18 students of B. Pharma IInd year studying in the Baghpat College be transferred to the NOIDA Institute. The respondents writ petitioners approached the NOIDA Institute for admission, but were not granted any admission. The respondents-writ petitioners also approached the Baghpat college for issuing transfer certificate/No objection certificate, but they were not issued. Faced with this situation the respondents-writ petitioners approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by means of a writ petition." In the counter-affidavit filed in the writ petition on behalf of the Baghpat college, a plea was taken that all these respondents-writ petitioners have been admitted on payment seats and they have not paid the full amount of fee. Further, inter-institutional, transfers of 1st year students have been banned by the State Government vide Government order dated 13.12.1991. The learned single Judge by means of impugned judgment held that the order dated 31.5.2001 passed by the Vice Chancellor by which the respondents-writ petitioners have been transferred to NOIDA Institute has not been challenged by the college in any forum, therefore, this order is binding on them. The plea of admission made on payment seat was not accepted on the ground that the Baghpat college has not produced any material to show that the respondents-writ petitioners have been admitted on payment seats and the admission letter issued by the college authority did not make any mention as to whether the admissions have been made on payment seats or free seats and thus, it was held that the admissions were made on free seats. Accordingly, the learned single Judge allowed the writ petition and issued a writ of mandamus to the Chairman and Principal of the Baghpat college as also the Chairman and Principal of the NOIDA Institute to comply with the order of the Vice-Chancellor dated 31.5.2001. The said order is under challenge in the present special appeal.
(3.) WE have heard Dr. R. G. Padia, learned senior counsel assisted by Sri Prakash Padia for the appellants and Sri V. M. Zaidi, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents-writ petitioners. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the writ petition itself was not maintainable as there was no existing cause of action and there was no legal provision, which could be said to have been violated. In any event in view of the Government order dated 13.12.1991, which had put a complete ban on inter-institutional transfer in respect of technical education at degree level, the respondents writ petitioners cannot claim any transfer from the appellant's college to the NOIDA Institute. He further submitted that the Vice Chancellor, Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, had no jurisdiction to pass any order directing the transfer of the respondents-writ petitioners from the appellant's college to another college in exercise of powers under Section 13 of the U. P. State Universities Act, 1973. According to him, the U. P. Technical University Act, 2000, has been enacted and has come into existence on 8.5.2000 and thus, the Vice Chancellor Ch. Charan Singh University had no jurisdiction to pass any order after 26.7.2000 when Section 4 of the said Act was enforced. Dr. Padia further submitted that all the respondent-writ petitioners were admitted on payment seats and as they have not deposited the full fee, they cannot be transferred and they are not entitled for transfer.;