INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (INDIA) THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN versus STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.

Citation: [2019] 10 S.C.R. 175 · Decided: 13-08-2019 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: UDAY UMESH LALIT · Disposal: Rejected

cites 4 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
175
INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (INDIA)
THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN
v.
STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.
(Miscellaneous Application No. 2367 of 2018)
In
(Civil Appeal No. 17922 of 2017)
AUGUST 13, 2019
[UDAY UMESH LALIT AND DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.]
University Grants Commission Act, 1956– ss.2(f), 3, 22–
Appellant conducts bi-annual examinations such as Technician
Engineers’ Part-I & Part-II etc., and on successful completion
thereof awarded the Certificate “Associate Member of Institution
of Engineers” (AMIE) – On 26.05.76, the Government of India
provisionally recognized a pass in the Associate Membership
Examination of the Mechanical Engineers Association of India at
par with degree in Mechanical Engineering from recognized Indian
University– Notification issued by the Central Government
recognizing the Part-I & Part-II Technician Engineers’ Examination
(T) at par with Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from State
Polytechnic – Qualifications in the said notification recognized for
recruitment to subordinate posts and services under the Government
of Punjab– Writ petition filed inter alia praying that the Certificate
of Membership issued by the appellant be declared invalid for
recruitment/promotion to the service concerning State affairs–
Disposed of by consent order – Review Application – Vide judgment
dtd. 06.11.12, in case of the appellant, the review was allowed inter
alia holding in paragraphs 205-213 that the Membership Certificate
granted could not be treated as equivalent to Degree in
Engineering– Challenged by the appellant– SLP listed along with
similar matters, but no submissions advanced by the appellant–
Matters decided vide order dtd. 03.11.17 – Appellant sought
clarification and modification thereof– Refused by the Registrar of
Supreme Court holding that the application sought review of the
judgment dtd. 03.11.17– Order of the Registrar under challenge in
   [2019] 10 S.C.R. 175
175
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
176
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2019] 10 S.C.R.
the present miscellaneous  application – Held: Registrar was right
in refusing to register the appellant’s application – On merits,
consistent stand of the appellant has been that it is not covered
under any of the Acts viz. the UGC Act, IGNOU Act and the AICTE
Act – In terms of s.22(1) of the UGC Act, right to confer degrees
can be exercised only by University established or incorporated by
or under Central Act, Provincial Act or State Act or by an institution
deemed to be University u/s.3, UGC Act or by an institution specially
empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees–
Appellant does not fall under any of the categories in s.22(1), UGC
Act – If degree can be awarded only by those institutions which
satisfy the description given in sub-sec.(1) of s.22, UGC Act, the
mandate of Parliamentary legislation cannot be circumvented by
awarding equivalence to Certificate awarded by the appellant–
Neither can the appellant claim, as a matter of right to be entitled to
confer any degree nor can it claim that Certificate awarded by it
must be reckoned to be equivalent to Degree in Mechanical
Engineering– Communication dtd. 26.05.76 under which the
Certificate issued by the appellant was recognized to be equivalent
to Degree in Mechanical Engineering from recognized Indian
University, does not indicate any statutory provision under which
such equivalence could be granted– However, the fact remains that
the equivalence to the Certificates awarded by the appellant was
granted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)
in consultation with AICTE upto 31.05.13 as evident from
Notification dtd. 06.12.12 issued by the Central Government and
Public Notice issued by AICTE in  August, 2017 – These
communications also indicate that students who were enrolled upto
31.05.13 would be eligible for consideration in accordance with
MHRD office memorandum/order in course – Exception made in
favour of such candidates – Conclusions drawn in the present matter
will apply after 01.06.13 – Certificate awarded by the appellant to
candidates enrolled upto 31.05.13 be considered equivalent to
Degree in Mechanical Engineering for the purpose of employment
in Central Government– No error in the assessment made by the
High Court in paragraphs 205 to 213 of its judgment – Societies
Registration Act, 1860 – University Grants Commission Act, 1956–
Indira Gandhi National Open University Act, 1985 – All India
Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 – ss.2 (g), (h), 3, 10.
A
B

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.