Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University v. Crescent Educational Society & Ors.
Background
Several engineering colleges sought to start new courses or increase their intake after securing approval from the AICTE (the central technical education regulator), but Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) insisted it also needed the State Government's no-objection certificate before granting affiliation. The Telangana High Court passed interim orders letting the institutions admit students to the new/expanded courses even before the State's NOC was obtained, relying on an earlier Supreme Court ruling. JNTU appealed against these interim High Court orders.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that under JNTU's own regulations, the State Government's prior permission is mandatory before new courses or an increased intake can be approved, and that the High Court's reliance on the earlier ruling (since distinguished by later decisions) was misplaced. However, since the State Government had meanwhile actually granted its NOC, the Court directed JNTU to complete the affiliation process within ten days, keeping the High Court's interim order stayed until that process concluded, after which the High Court was free to pass further appropriate orders based on the outcome.
Lesson Learnt
Courts are cautious about interim orders that let students join courses before a university's affiliation process is actually complete, because unwinding such admissions later causes real hardship to students: regulatory approvals need to be finalised in the proper sequence rather than worked around through litigation.