Background
AICTE is a standard setting and regulatory body like BCI, ICAR, NCTE, MCI but poor thing, can’t exercise control over its technical programs being run in universities. It must be feeling the pain of having been deprived of the power by the Hon’ble Supreme Court since 2001. While other regulatory bodies enjoy sending their inspectors, AICTE keeps helplessly watching the cousins exercising power to approve/disapprove courses, intake and FSR. AICTE got a drop in their dry mouth when a case of Deemed to be Universities came up for hearing before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the year 2017. Due to special character of such universities and nature of courses being run, it mandated AICTE to approve and regulate their Engg programs. Meanwhile, AICTE didn’t sit idle. It opened their portal for the UGC approved universities to apply for the AICTE approval should they wish to avail the benefits of their schemes. AICTE further required universities running technical courses to follow AICTE minimum standards norms. To this, it however didn’t create a mechanism to approve/verify as that would have gone against the Apex Court judgement for the private and government universities. Now, the Apex court is asking the HEIs what all regulatory bodies requiring them to seek approval. It perhaps looks to free HEIs from activities leading to corruption.
To my utter surprise, many engineering colleges who used to get e-annual approvals of their programs, when established into state private universities, continued the old practice. They should have stopped applying for the AICTE annual approvals, and instead enjoyed an autonomy of a university. It is similar to a frog that doesn’t jump out of the bowl if the bowl is slowly kept on slow heating. Well, if you feel, there are some AICTE exclusive schemes run by it for the technical courses, and you’re getting benefitted, be welcomed to apply for their annual approval, but check if these are indeed productive and beneficial. I think, hardly. So if you are not availing schemes and not a Deemed To Be University, why then apply for the AICTE approval and continue killing your conscious by submitting incorrect data on FSR ?
Legal Position
Binding legal position (Supreme Court of India) in the case of Bharathidasan University & Anr. vs AICTE & Ors. (2001) 8 SCC 676 is the foundational judgment and it still governs the field.
It held that ;
☘️ AICTE has NO power to require prior approval for universities (whether Central, State or Private) to start or run technical/engineering programmes.
☘️ The AICTE Act, 1987 applies to “technical institutions”, not to universities established under a Central or State Act.
☘️ Universities are created under separate legislation and are regulated by UGC, not by AICTE’s approval regime.
Exact Supreme Court language (key extract):
“The provisions of the AICTE Act do not apply to Universities, as Universities are governed by their respective statutes and the UGC Act. AICTE has no authority to issue directions to Universities or to insist upon prior approval for starting technical courses.”
👉 This judgment has never been overruled.
