A-1-Ameen Teacher Training Institute vs State of Tamil Nadu and others

S. Mohan Offg., C.J.—This case brings to the fore a malaise which is slowly developing in this part of the country.

In the name of imparting training or giving education, so may mushroom institutions have sprung up. In order to better the prospects of students,

in their days of competition unwary and unfortunate students join these institutions either without knowing whether they are genuine institutions or

not or whethr they are recognised institutions or not. In this situation, the court is confronted with a problem as to what should be done. Should the

Court be harsh and come down upon those persons who start these institutions unmindful of the statutory regulations governing the institutions or

should the court mellow down and come to the rescue of these unfortunate students? Betwixt those conflicting interests, a via media could be

struck provided there is room for that. With this background, we go on to the facts of this case.

The writ petition was preferred by the appellant for a mandamus to direct the respondents to permit the 80 students of the appellant -- Institute

who had completed the two year Diploma Course in the appellant-Institute during the year, 1989 to appear for and write the Government

Examination for Diploma in Teacher Education scheduled to be held on 3-4-1989 in the nearest Centre to the appellant -- Institute, publish the

result of the Examination and issue certificates and Diplomas to the students through the appellant Institute viz. A1-Ameen Teacher Training

Institute, No. 26, Vadamathathi Street, Tiruvannamalai, North Arcot District.

The learned single Judge (S. Ramalingam, J.) was of the view that the petitioner before him approached after the 11th hour, however, before the

12th. Therefore, he dismissed the writ petition in limine, Thus, the appeal.

Mr. Vedantam Srinivasan, the learned counsel for the appellant strongly urges before us that the appellant is now seeking the benefit of Art.

30(1) of the Constitution as a minority institution that the same is pending consideration before the appellate authority where the question relating to

recognition is also pending examination and that in these circumstances, there is no justification for withholding permission for the students (eighty in

number) of the appellant Institute to take the Examination. He stated that as a matter of fact, this Court, with regard to the very institution had

granted similar permission on earlier occasion as seen from the order dated 6-11-1987 in \V. P. Nos. 10837 of 1987 etc. He only prays that

subject to the right of recognition the same privilege may be granted here as well.

We had directed notice to the learned Government Pleader to get urgent instructions. Accordingly, he has obtained instructions and has placed

the concerned file before us. He would draw our attention to the report of the Chief Educational Officer. Vellore, North Arcot District dt. 31-10-

1988. That clearly indicates that there is no such institution at all as the appellant would claim in the address given, namely, No. 60, Chellaneri

Street and that there is no such street at all and that in No. 26, Vadamathathi Street, excepting a name board, nothing else was found. Therefore,

he would strongly urge that to such a bogus institution, the court should not lend its helping hand. Whether the students have undergone the course

or not is a moot point. Even assuming they had undergone the course, the law relating to these unweary or unfortunate students had come to be

clearly delineated in the ruling of the Supreme Court in N.M. Nageshwaramma and Others Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Another, . Therein,

the Supreme Court has pointed out that if the students had joined such an institution, they had run the risk and the court cannot sympathise with

them. Under these circumstances, the question of granting permission to take the examination would not arise.

It might be true that on earlier occasions this court might have granted permission to take the Examination but on those occasions, the court was

not aware of the important fact that the institution itself is not in existence since there was no report of this kind. In any event, the Joint Director by

his order dt. 11-11-1988 had rejected the application for recognition by a well-considered order. That is pending in appeal. Therefore, there is no

merit in this case.

Courts as a matter of prudence and policy should not be over zealous on the basis of considerations which are not germane to the issue. In other

words, what we are entitled to find out even at the threshold is that on the mere ground that unfortunately 80 students have undergone the course

(which itself is a point of disputation before us) whether permission could be granted. In this case, the factual position as seen from the order of the

Joint Director of School Education dt. 11-11-1988 is that the Chief Educational Officer, Vellore visited the institute on 11-10-1988 at the address

given by the correspondent, namely, No. 60, Chellaneri Street, Perumal Nagar, Thiruvannamalai. Then the order reads as follows :

......................

....5. The Chief Educational Officer has stated that in Perumal Nagar, there is no street called Chellaneri Street. Hence it is very clear that the

correspondent has simply mentioned an address in the application for recognition and sent the same. Hence, the application itself is a false one.

Even before the visit of the Chief Educational officer on 11-10-1988, the school was inspected on 9-12-1987 at 5. p.m. by the then Joint

Director of School Education and it was found that the school was not functioning at that time also.

The Chief Educational Officer has further stated that there was a name board found at No. 26, Vadamathathu Street, which is a dwelling house

and during the visit it was found that the house was locked.

From the above reports, it is very clear that the institute was not at all functioning and the management has simply sent application for

recognition.

.....

If from this report it is clear that no institute as claimed by the appellant is functioning at all and the management has merely sent an application

for recognition, how can this court sympathise with the students? Crafty persons taking advantage of the situation in which unweary are placed who

want to better their prospects by earning more qualifications, start bogus institutions and drive a hard bargain of the situation. This case is nothing

more than that. We say so because the report of the Chief Educational Officer, Vellore, North Arcot, puts the matter beyond doubt about the very

existence of, much less the functioning of the appellant institution. What then are we to do? Are we to as is contended by Mr. Vedantam

Srinivasan, punish the man who had started the bogus institution or who is supposed to have trained the students without a proper institution or are

we to take note of the hard realities of the situation? We consider that it is impossible to ignore the very fact in this case that the very existence of

the institution and equally the functioning of the institution is at stake. That fact stares at us. There is no escape from the situation. In view of this

factual position, what are we to do for the students? Are we to follow the earlier orders of this Court? Saying ""via tuta"" (oft repeated past is good),

we do not propose to follow that case. Whatever simpathy we could have or we could have had could no longer go exercised in view of the

categoric pronouncement of the Supreme Court reported in N.M. Nageshwaramma and Others Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Another, . Their

Lordships clearly pointed out therein in a similar case of Teacher Training Institute as follows (at p. 1191) :

.....These institutions were established and the students were admitted into these institutes despite a series of press notes issued by the

Government. If by a fiat of the Court the Government is directed to permit them to appear at the examination Court will practically be encouraging

and condoning the establishment of unauthorised institutions. It is not appropriate that the jurisdiction of the Court either under Art. 32 of the

Constitution or Art. 226 should be frittered away for such a purpose. The Teachers Training Institutes are meant to teach Children of

impressionable age and Court cannot let loose on the innocent and unweary children, teachers who have not received proper and adequate

training. True they will be required to pass the examination but that may not be enough Training for a certain minimum period in a properly

organised and equipped Training Institute is probably essential before a teacher may be duly launched.

In the case on hand, the position is more worse because there is no semblance or trace of an institution. For this conclusion of ours we rely

only on the report of the Chief Educational Officer dt. 31-10-1988 and the proceedings of the Joint Director of School Education in Re. No.

272239/M3/88 dated 11-11-1988.

There is an added reason for us as not to follow the earlier orders because at that time, as rightly contended by the learned Government

Pleader, this court was not presented with the factual position. In these circumstances, if the students had joined the Institute, they have run the

risk. That risk cannot be set right by a stroke of pen, namely, by a command issued by this court.

For the above reasons, we dismiss the writ appeal. But this dismissal shall not prejudice the right of the appellant to agitate the points that are

available to him in the appeal against the refusal to recognise, pending before the Director of School Education. No costs.

Appeal dismissed.