Certificate Issued By Private University Based On Off-Campus Course Run By Its Franchisee Not Legally Valid: Madhya Pradesh High Court

Certificate Issued By Private University Based On Off-Campus Course Run By Its Franchisee Not Legally Valid: Madhya Pradesh High Court

Anukriti Mishra

5 Dec 2024 5:50 PM

The Madhya Pradesh High Court while dismissing a petition relating to recruitment for post of accountant held that any certificate issued by a private university on the basis of an off-campus course run by its franchisee cannot be said to be legally valid.

A single-judge bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia observed, “…since the Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh was not entitled to run off-campus course through franchisee, therefore, any certificate issued by Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh on the basis of off-campus course run by its franchisee cannot have any legal sanctity. Under these circumstances, this Court is of considered opinion that the Rajya Shiksha Kendra did not commit any mistake by declaring petitioners No.1 to 3 as disqualified for the post of Accountant.”

As per the factual matrix of the case, the petitioners had applied for post of Accountant through recruitment examination conducted by Professional Examination Board. However, the petitioners were declared disqualified through an order passed by the Commissioner, Rajya Shiksha Kendra, Bhopal. Thereafter, the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was preferred.

The minimum qualification of the said exam was: (i) Graduation Degree in Commerce with minimum 50% of marks; (ii) Diploma in Computer awarded by any University/Open University recognized by UGC or D.E.O.A.C.A. level of diploma or certificate regarding Modern Office Management issued by Govt. Polytechnic College.

The counsel for petitioners submitted that they had obtained Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Application (PGDCA) Course from Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh and thus they are qualified for the post of Accountant. They were declared selected and were posted in District Morena in Block Sabalgarh, Porsa and Ambah. It was argued that petitioner No.1 was declared disqualified for having obtained PGDCA diploma from private college, by doing off campus course whereas petitioners No.2 and 3 were declared disqualified for having DCA Diploma from a private college by doing off campus course.

It was further submitted that since Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh, is a recognized university having its territorial jurisdiction over entire State of M.P., therefore, rejection of PGDCA diploma course obtained from a franchisee of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh is bad in law.

On the contrary, the counsel for the respondents referring to a circular dated 09.08.2014 issued by University Grants Commission (UGC), submitted that no University whether Central, State, private or deemed, can offer its programmes through franchisee arrangement with private coaching institutions even for the purpose of conducting courses through distant mode. It was further submitted that the petitioners have obtained PGDCA/DCA courses by pursuing their studies in MY-0109: II TECH Institute, Gwalior, which is an off campus course run by franchisee of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh, therefore, it is not a recognized one.

The issue before the court was “whether private universities can run off campus courses through franchisees or not?”. To address the issue, the court referred to the UGC circular dated 09.08.2014 filed by respondents.

The court observed, “It is clear that adequate advertisement was given by UGC to all the persons who wanted to prosecute their PGDCA/DCA courses by informing them well in advance that any off-campus course done from a franchisee is not a recognized one.”

Thus, the court concluded that Maharshi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh was not entitled to run off-campus course through franchisee, therefore, any certificate issued by the aforesaid college on the basis of off-campus course run by its franchisee cannot be said to be valid.

Accordingly, court affirmed the order passed by the Commissioner, Rajya Shiksha Kendra, Bhopal, thereby vacating the interim order through which the petitioners were continuing in service. Petition was hence, dismissed.

Case Title: Vinay Yadav And Others Versus The State Of Madhya Pradesh And Others, Writ Petition No. 5824 of 2017