Case Background
This case arose from a dispute between a teacher training college and the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) over affiliation for additional seats in the Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) course.
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), Eastern Regional Committee, Bhubaneswar, first granted recognition to the petitioner college on 03.03.2016. This recognition allowed the college to run a two-year D.El.Ed. programme for the academic session 2016-17 with an intake of 50 students.
The college challenged this recognition order dated 03.03.2016 before the Orissa High Court. After the Orissa High Court’s order and remand, the NCTE issued a revised recognition order on 02.05.2017. By this order, NCTE permitted the college to run the D.El.Ed. programme from academic session 2017-18 with an increased total intake of 100 students (additional 50 seats).
Meanwhile, on the basis of the original NCTE recognition dated 03.03.2016, the college applied to BSEB on 18.01.2017 for affiliation for 50 seats. BSEB granted affiliation by letter dated 20.11.2017, but only for the academic session 2018-20. The college was dissatisfied and challenged this, along with similar matters, in a writ petition (CWJC No. 10788 of 2019).
On 24.07.2019, a coordinate Bench of the Patna High Court directed BSEB to consider the claims of the petitioners in light of a Division Bench judgment dated 28.03.2019 in CWJC No. 19046 of 2018 (Rajendra Kishore B.Ed. College and others vs. BSEB & others). Acting on this, BSEB passed an order on 13.09.2019 correcting the academic session of affiliation from 2018-20 to 2016-18 for the original 50 seats, thus aligning affiliation with the NCTE recognition session.
The present writ petition, Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 151 of 2020, was then filed by the college. It sought a specific direction to BSEB and other respondents to grant affiliation for an additional 50 D.El.Ed seats for the academic session 2017-19, in accordance with NCTE’s recognition order dated 02.05.2017.
What the Court Examined and Decided
Justice Mohit Kumar Shah of the Patna High Court heard the matter and delivered a reserved (C.A.V.) judgment on 17.08.2022.
The college’s main argument was simple: NCTE had already granted recognition for an additional intake of 50 students, raising the total intake to 100 from the academic session 2017-18. Despite this, BSEB failed to grant affiliation for the additional seats for the sessions 2016-18 and 2017-19 and only granted affiliation from 2018-20. The college also relied on a previous Patna High Court order dated 26.09.2019 in CWJC No. 19926 of 2019 (Dr. Trisuldhari Pandey Memorial College of Education vs. The State and others), where similar relief had been granted.
On the other hand, BSEB opposed the writ petition and gave a detailed factual explanation of the sequence of applications and orders.
First, BSEB pointed out that after the original NCTE recognition dated 03.03.2016, the college applied to BSEB on 18.01.2017 for affiliation for 50 seats. This led to affiliation being initially granted from session 2018-20 by letter dated 20.11.2017. Later, following various court orders, BSEB corrected this to session 2016-18 through its order dated 13.09.2019.
Second, regarding the additional 50 seats, BSEB explained that the petitioner was granted enhanced recognition by NCTE only through the revised order dated 02.05.2017. After this, the college submitted a formal application in the prescribed format, with all necessary documents and required affiliation fees, on 01.06.2017 for the extra 50 seats.
However, this submission date raised a serious legal problem. BSEB relied on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Maa Vaishno Devi Mahila Mahavidyalaya vs. The State of U.P. and others, reported in (2013) 2 SCC 617. In that case, the Supreme Court had laid down strict timelines for issuance of formal orders of recognition for teacher education courses.
Later, in Interlocutory Application No. 16 of 2017 in W.P.(C) No. 276 of 2012 (in the same litigation), the Supreme Court extended the last date for issuance of formal orders of recognition for the academic session 2017-18 up to 30.05.2017, by order dated 02.03.2017.
BSEB argued that, because of this Supreme Court order, any application for affiliation linked to recognition for the academic session 2017-18 had to be processed keeping the 30.05.2017 cut-off in mind. According to BSEB, the petitioner’s valid application in the prescribed format, along with fees and documents, was received only on 01.06.2017, which was beyond the cut-off date.
The petitioner tried to rely on an earlier letter it had sent to BSEB on 09.05.2017, soon after receiving the NCTE recognition dated 02.05.2017. Counsel for BSEB, however, pointed out that this letter was only a simple forwarding communication enclosing the NCTE recognition order. It was not in the prescribed application format, was unaccompanied by necessary supporting documents, and was not backed by the prescribed fees.
To support this, BSEB produced the proper application dated 01.06.2017 as Annexure-A to its counter affidavit. This document showed that the demand draft for affiliation fees had been drawn on 31.05.2017 from Canara Bank, which was after the 30.05.2017 cut-off set by the Supreme Court.
Justice Mohit Kumar Shah accepted BSEB’s explanation. The Court noted that under clause 5(kha) of the Bihar School Examination Board (Teacher Education Issuance of no-objection certificate, affiliation norms and procedure) Regulation, 2016, a college seeking affiliation is required to submit an application in the prescribed form along with the necessary documents and fee. A mere letter enclosing the NCTE recognition order, as sent on 09.05.2017, did not meet these legal requirements.
Therefore, for the purpose of determining compliance with the Supreme Court’s cut-off date, the relevant application date was 01.06.2017, not 09.05.2017. Since this was after 30.05.2017, the High Court held that BSEB could not have granted affiliation for the additional 50 seats for the academic session 2017-18 (and consequently for 2017-19).
The Court also distinguished its earlier order in the case of Dr. Trisuldhari Pandey Memorial College of Education. In that matter, the college had admittedly submitted a complete affiliation application in the proper format with requisite fees on 10.05.2017, clearly within the extended cut-off date of 30.05.2017. On that factual basis, relief was granted. In the present case, however, the complete application was filed only on 01.06.2017, beyond the cut-off.
The Court further observed that, despite the delay, BSEB had been “gracious enough” to grant affiliation for the additional 50 seats from the academic session 2018-20 by its letter dated 13.06.2018. Thus, while the college could not claim affiliation for 2017-18/2017-19, it was allowed to operate with increased intake from 2018-20 onwards.
In paragraph 9 and 10 of the judgment, the Court concluded that granting affiliation for the extra 50 seats for academic session 2017-19 would have been “in teeth of” (i.e., contrary to) the Supreme Court’s order dated 02.03.2017 in the Maa Vaishno Devi Mahila Mahavidyalaya case. As a result, no illegality or infirmity was found in BSEB’s decision to start the additional seats only from session 2018-20.
On this reasoning, the Patna High Court held that there was no merit in the writ petition and dismissed it.
Why This Judgment Matters
This judgment is important for teacher training colleges and similar institutions seeking affiliation or increased intake in Bihar.
The Patna High Court makes clear that procedural steps and deadlines fixed by the Supreme Court must be followed strictly. Even if a college has valid recognition from NCTE, it cannot claim affiliation for a particular academic session if it does not submit a complete application, with documents and fees, within the permitted time.
The judgment also shows that a simple letter or informal communication to the affiliating authority does not count as a valid application. Institutions must use the prescribed form, attach all required documents, and pay the fees in time. Any delay can cost them an entire academic session of intake.
For students and parents, this order indirectly protects them from uncertainty and last-minute changes in course recognition and affiliation. For administrators and college managements, it is a reminder that they must plan ahead and comply with regulations and court-imposed timelines.
Legal Issues and Answers
Issue: Whether the Bihar School Examination Board was bound to grant affiliation for an additional 50 D.El.Ed seats to the petitioner college for the academic session 2017-19, on the basis of NCTE’s recognition order dated 02.05.2017.
Answer: No. The Court held that the college submitted a complete, prescribed-format application with requisite fee only on 01.06.2017, which was beyond the Supreme Court’s extended cut-off date of 30.05.2017. Granting affiliation for 2017-18/2017-19 would have violated the Supreme Court’s order, so BSEB rightly confined affiliation for the extra seats to the 2018-20 session.
Cases Cited by the Court
- Maa Vaishno Devi Mahila Mahavidyalaya vs. The State of U.P. and others, (2013) 2 SCC 617, including order dated 02.03.2017 in I.A. No. 16 of 2017 in W.P.(C) No. 276 of 2012 (relied on for the cut-off date of 30.05.2017).
- CWJC No. 19046 of 2018, Rajendra Kishore B.Ed. College and others vs. BSEB & others (Division Bench judgment dated 28.03.2019, referred to in relation to correction of affiliation session).
- CWJC No. 19926 of 2019, Dr. Trisuldhari Pandey Memorial College of Education vs. The State and others (distinguished on facts because the application there was filed on 10.05.2017).
Case Details
Case Number: Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 151 of 2020
Case Title: Vidya College of Professional Studies vs. The Bihar School Examination Board & Ors.
Citation: 2022 (4) PLJR 615
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mohit Kumar Shah
Advocates:
- For the Petitioner: Mr. P.K. Shahi, Senior Advocate; Mr. Suman Kumar, Advocate
- For the Bihar School Examination Board: Mr. Gyan Shankar, Advocate
- For the National Council for Teacher Education: Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh, Advocate
Nature of the Case: Writ petition under civil writ jurisdiction seeking direction for grant of affiliation for additional D.El.Ed seats.
Link to Judgment: View full judgment on Patna High Court website
If you found this explanation helpful and wish to stay informed about
how legal developments may affect your rights in Bihar,
you may consider following Samvida Law Associates for more updates.
