- (1.) The petitioner enrolled herself with the Indian Institute of Architects (hereafter the "IIA"), the fifth respondent, as a student in 2004. She successfully passed the examination conducted by the IIA in the year 2011 securing 1st class. Consequently, the IIA had elected her as an associate. On the basis of the membership of the IIA, the petitioner applied on December 31, 2012 before the Council of Architecture (hereafter the "COA"), the second respondent, for registration of her name as an architect under the Architects Act, 1972 (hereafter the "Act"). On February 11, 2013, the COA informed the petitioner that its recommendation for withdrawal of recognition of membership of the IIA, which was an eligibility criterion for registration, was pending before the Central Government (hereafter the "Govt.") and that the appropriate notification by the Govt. was awaited. Ten months later, on December 12, 2013, she was again informed by the COA that it had at its 60th meeting decided to conduct an 'Architecture Competency Test' (hereafter the "test") followed by a viva voce on February 08, 2014 for those candidates who were enrolled by the IIA after July 01, 2002 and had now secured the associate membership of the IIA. Feeling aggrieved by such actions of the COA, the petitioner has approached this Court with the present writ petition seeking inter alia the following relief: "In view of the facts and circumstances as stated above the petitioner most humbly that Your Lordships may graciously be pleased to pass the following order:- a) A writ of/or in the nature of Mandamus be issued commanding the respondent authorities and each of them, their servants agent and assigns to set aside and/or rescind the letter being Ref. No. CA/28/2013/IIA-Exam dated December 12, 2013 issued by the Council of Architecture; thereby informing about a decision taken at the 60th meeting of the Council held on 27th August, 2013 for conduct of Architecture competency test on February 8, 2014 at New Delhi followed with Viva Voce for candidates enrolled by IIA after July 1, 2002 and passed Associate Membership of IIA by examination being Annexure P-5, forthwith; b) A writ of/or in the nature of Mandamus be issued commanding the respondent authorities and each of them, their servants agents and assigns to set aside and/or rescind the letter being Ref No. CO/2/2013 dated February, 2013 issued by the Council of Architecture and grant Registration to the Petitioner as Architect under the provisions of Architects Act, 1972, forthwith;"
(2.) Despite the test proposed to be conducted by the COA being under challenge at the petitioner's instance, I allowed the test to be conducted by an order dated 30.01.2014 in the interest of protecting the rights of those other members who were willing to take such test. I had noted in such order the broader issue arising for decision on the writ petition, that is, whether the COA can refuse to register the petitioner, member of the IIA, only on the ground that the COA's recommendation for withdrawal of such membership as an eligibility criterion for registration under the Act is pending before the Govt.
(3.) On exchange of affidavits between the petitioner and the contesting respondents, that is, the second to the fourth respondents, the writ petition was heard finally. However, before calling upon them to advance arguments on the merits of the writ petition finally, I had called upon Mr. Dasgupta, learned advocate for the first respondent, Union of India, to place its version. He produced a communication dated January 31, 2014 of the Under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education addressed to the third respondent, the President of the COA, on the subject of issuance of notification under section 20 of the Act for derecognizing the "Membership of Indian Institute of Architects" and submitted on the basis thereof that the COA has no legal authority to conduct the test. He also referred to the department's communication dated April 6, 2011 addressed to the fourth respondent, the Registrar of the COA, to the effect that unless notification in exercise of power under Section 20 of the Act is issued in respect of the IIA, architectural qualification awarded by it "cannot be said to have been derecognized by any authority". I shall refer to these communications at a later part of this judgment.;