- (1.) THIS Bench has been constituted pursuant to a referring order dated 19.09.2012 passed by a learned Single Judge in Writ Petition No. 48208 of 2012.
(2.) BEFORE we proceed to examine the question that has been referred to us, it would be useful to give the background facts, in brief. The petitioners took admission in Special B.T.C. Training Course 2008. They underwent training, passed the practical examination and, thereafter, gave their final written examination. When their results were not declared, they approached this Court by means of Writ Petition No. 13741 of 2012, which was disposed of with a direction to the authority concerned to consider their claim by a reasoned and speaking order, within a specified period. Pursuant to the aforesaid direction, the respondent No.2 (the Secretary, Examination Regulatory Authority, U.P.) proceeded to pass an order dated 07.05.2012 (Annexure 4 to the writ petition), thereby holding that as the petitioners were claiming under a certificate of "Adhikari Pariksha" from Gurukul Viswavidhyalaya, Vrindavan (hereinafter referred to as Gurukul), which has been referred to as a fake institution in Government letter dated 22.02.2008, and this Court also, vide order dated 13.10.2011, in Special Appeal No. 1990 of 2011 (Indrawati Devi v. State of U.P. and others), has held that certificate conferred by Gurukul, which has been declared a fake university by University Grants Commission (hereinafter referred to as UGC), cannot be accepted as a valid qualification, therefore, the prayer of the petitioners for declaration of result cannot be accepted.
(3.) AS the order impugned in the writ petition places reliance on the Division Bench decision in Indrawati Devi's case, it is necessary for us to refer to the reasoning adopted by the Division Bench in Indrawati Devi's case (supra). In Indrawati Devi's case, the Division Bench had the occasion to examine the correctness of a decision rendered by a single judge by which he had dismissed the writ petition of the petitioner. In the said writ petition, the petitioner therein had challenged cancellation of his candidature for BTC Training Course 2010. The candidature was canceled on the ground that Adhikari Pariksha passed from Gurukul in the year 2001 was not valid as the said University has been declared to be a fake University. The petitioner therein contested the cancellation on the ground that Adhikari Pariksha till 2008, was considered equivalent to High School by the Board. The single judge dismissed the writ petition by observing that since Gurukul has been declared fake by UGC, it had no power to confer or grant degree, which can be done by a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, Provincial Act or State Act or an institution deemed to be a University under section 3 of the UGC Act, as has been held by the apex court in Prof. Yashpal & anr. V. State of Chhatisgarh & Ors., (2005) 5 SCC 420. Before the division bench, in appeal, it was canvassed that Adhikari Pariksha was accorded recognition up to the year 2008 by the Board, therefore, the candidature of the petitioner, who had passed Adhikari Pariksha in the year 2001, cannot be canceled. Rejecting the said contention, the division bench while dismissing the Special Appeal preferred by Indrawati Devi, observed as follows: "Mere fact that for some period, the Adhikari examination conducted by the said University was considered to be equivalent to the high school examination of U.P. Board, as emphasized by the learned counsel for the appellant by pointing out various letters and documents of the Secretary of the U.P. Secondary Education Board, Allahabad filed along with the writ petition, the same will not validate the certificate, since the University granting such certificate has not been established or incorporated in accordance with law." ;