Supreme Court pulls up AICTE over schedule

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for not complying with the directions on schedule for grant of affiliation to technical institutions and said such an inaction will endanger the prospects of students.

A vacation bench of Justices P.C. Ghose and Amitav Roy told counsel for AICTE: “If our orders are not obeyed, we can be exemplarily ruthless. We will not allow anyone to tinker with our orders. Those officers responsible for changing the date fixed by us must learn lesson of their life. You (AICTE) put students’ life at risk. After your reply we may fine you for not meeting the deadline and the damage caused to students.”

The bench was hearing an application filed by the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University in Uttar Pradesh complaining about the AICTE not adhering to the schedule and praying for extending the deadline for affiliation to the institutions under the university. The bench, while extending the time limit till June 10, asked the AICTE to file an affidavit explaining the delay in intimating to the university about the approved institutions.