JNTU-Hyderabad nod must for new engineering courses, rules SC

HYDERABAD: Making it clear that Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad, has the final say in approving new engineering courses or enhancing seats in Telangana, the Supreme Court on Thursday made it mandatory for several private engineering colleges in the state, including Hyderabad, to obtain affiliation from the university after meeting its set criteria.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and A Bopanna pronounced this order after hearing the appeal filed by JNTU registrar Dr M Manzoor Hussain, who challenged an interim direction given by Telangana high court ordering affiliation to all those colleges which had obtained permission from AICTE.
JNTU-Hyderabad oversees technical education across Telangana.
Several private engineering colleges, which have secured AICTE nod for an additional 2,500 seats in computer science engineering, artificial intelligence, information technology, data science, and the Internet of things, etc, have to now submit themselves to the authority of JNTU-Hyderabad and prove their infra credentials.
While the colleges were insisting that they should be given permission to go ahead because AICTE had permitted them, JNTU said that they have to first obtain a no objection certificate (NoC) from the state and the process of affiliation would start only after that.
Senior counsel C S Vaidyanathan, defending the action of JNTU, said the state has to plan the educational facilities in a proportionate manner and it had a bounden-duty to prevent mushrooming of similar courses at one point and the university has the responsibility to grant affiliation to only those colleges that have the required infrastructure.
As the state later accorded NoC to several colleges, the bench, however, recorded the assurance of JNTU that it would complete the inspections within 10 days. The bench, while staying the Telangana HC order, however, directed JNTU to place its reports before the HC after inspection. The HC would take decisions in respect of each of the colleges after verifying the inspection reports furnished by JNTU. The apex court observed that it kept in view the interests of the students already admitted this year, but made it clear that all the colleges have to go through inspection of JNTU.