Justice K. Lakshman declines relief to engineering colleges over fee enhancement

Justice Ok. Lakshman of Telangana Excessive Court docket on Friday declined to allow the enhancement of annual price for various programs by 12 engineering faculties.

Disposing of interim purposes within the writ petitions filed by these faculties, the choose instructed TG EAPCET-2025 Convenor to tell the scholars that the price paid by them can be topic to the ultimate final result of the writ petitions. This data must be conveyed to college students by inserting it on the Convenor’s official web site or via every other mode, the choose stated. The choose additionally directed the Telangana Admission and Charge Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) to finish consideration of the price enhancement proposals put ahead by the 12 faculties, repair them and ship the identical to the Principal Secretary of Increased Training inside six weeks.

The petitioners (engineering faculties) raised a number of contentions over the federal government fixing current annual price for 2025-26 educational yr, together with the minutes of the assembly held by TAFRC on June 6, ‘require detailed examination’ after the authorities file counter affidavits, the choose stated.

The TAFRC, having obtained price enhancement proposals and performed listening to on the identical, ought to have taken a name on the matter earlier than the Convenor issued admission schedule. The Committee waited until June 18. Even the engineering faculties waited until July 10, the final date for exercising choices following verification of certificates and freezing of choices.

Whereas the Convenor issued the ultimate schedule on June 27, the Increased Training division issued orders fixing the price on June 30. On this backdrop, ‘the petitioners did not make out any prima facie case to grant interim order and there’s no steadiness of comfort of their favour’, the choose stated within the order.

Justice Lakshman famous that the HC can’t decide the price. “It’s impermissible. Such train will result in usurping the statutory powers of TAFRC which can render it a toothless tiger,” the order stated. The engineering faculties can’t strategy the courtroom on the final day of exercising choices by college students and file writ petitions by shifting lunch motions, the choose noticed.