Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 To Protect 250 Students' Career

The Supreme Court on Wednesday invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to protect 250 students from facing hurdles in education due to the shifting of their institute's campus.

Article 142 of the Constitution empowers the top court to pass any decree or order necessary for doing "complete justice" in any case or matter pending before it.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih was dealing with a matter related to a property in Mangaluru from where a hotel management institute was run.

"Faced with the difficulty that on the one hand the appellant has to vacate the present premises and on the other hand, the campus where it is proposing to relocate its institute, is not ready, the appellant is required to shift its institute at a temporary location," the bench said.

The verdict went on, "We find that this is a fit case wherein this court should exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to meet the ends of justice. If we fail to exercise the said power, the career of about 250 students would be jeopardised." According to a settlement agreement arrived at between the property owner and the institute, the latter was required to vacate the property on or before April 30, 2025.

The institute's counsel said while the idea was to shift the institute permanently to a new location, due to the incomplete new campus an arrangement was made to shift the institute to another property.

The counsel said the appellant did not have sufficient time to directly move to the new location which would have satisfied the requirements of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

He said the temporary location, where the appellant proposed to shift the institute, would satisfy all other facilities required to be provided to students for academic excellence.

The appellant, therefore, sought the court to issue appropriate directions to the AICTE and the Mangalore University to permit them to shift to the temporary location and to continue to operate the course there for a period not exceeding two years.

The bench noted that the appellant was running the institute since 2004 and even for academic year 2024-25, it received permission from the AICTE.

The bench, as a result, directed the AICTE and Mangalore University not to insist, for a period of two years from today, on compliance with the requirement of the appellant shifting its institute to a place which is either owned by it or in respect of which the lease for a period of over 30 years is existing.

The AICTE and university would continue the permission or affiliation granted to the institute for two years in a premises where the appellant would temporarily relocate its institute, it added.

"However, the said premises would conform to the other requirement," the bench clarified.

The institute was ordered to ensure that the new location, which conforms with the AICTE requirement, would be completed within two years and it moved there before April 30, 2027.

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