SC notice to Centre, Mysore varsity for illegal centres outside state

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered issuance of notices to the Union government, the UGC and the University of Mysore on a petition by 12 students for penal action against varsity authorities for illegally allowing its centres outside Karnataka.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and D Y Chandrachud also sought response from the Karnataka government and others on the PIL filed by Ishu Sharma and 11 other students.

The students’ advocate Sravan Kumar submitted to the court that the university, in “blatant violation of the law”, had granted affiliation to about 134 colleges and outreach centers outside Karnataka since 2008.

He said opening such centres outside the territorial jurisdiction of state universities was in gross violation of the Supreme Court judgement in Prof Yashpal vs State of Chhattisgarh (2005).

‘No jurisdiction’
The court had held that state universities created under the statute enacted by the state legislature had no jurisdiction to accord affiliations to colleges and institutions located beyond such state.

Thousands of students had enrolled into courses like BBM, BBA, BCA, BCom, MCA and MBA for academic years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) later issued a public notice as well as a letter, clarifying that the University of Mysore was not authorised to open off-campus centres outside Karnataka.

“The petitioners have spent lakhs of rupees by way of college fees and accommodation for studying professional courses in outreach centres of the University of Mysore in different parts of country and places like Dubai and Kuwait,” the petition said and sought a CBI probe against other universities that had violated their jurisdiction.

The students said they lost precious academic years and resources by falling prey to the illegal outreach centres and institutions because of the university.

They urged the court to order validation of their degrees saying it was not their fault to enrol in such centres.