Orissa High Court

Cuttack, May 22 : Orissa High Court has revoked its order to Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) to issue notification on conferring of autonomous status to C.V. Raman College of Engineering in Bhubaneswar by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The UGC had conferred autonomous status to the college on January 13, 2011, and communicated it to Registrar of BPUT. Subsequently on April 15, the UGC nominated vice-chancellor (technical) of the Uttarakhand University Dr D.S. Chauhan as its representative to the board of the governing body of the college.

The college filed a petition in the high court when BPUT did not issue a notification on conferring of autonomous status to it by UGC. It filed another petition after the state government also decided not to accord autonomous status to it.

Acting on it, a single judge bench directed the BPUT and the state government on January 17 to take immediate steps to carry out their respective obligations under the XI Plan Guidelines of the UGC for grant of autonomous status to the C.V. Raman College of Engineering.

Then both BPUT and the state government had filed writ appeals challenging the order of the single judge.

“The division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mahapatra set aside the order of the single judge on May 18, 2012, on the ground that it is an error of law,” BPUT’s counsel told The Telegraph today.

The UGC guidelines is “not applicable” for conferring autonomous status to C.V. Raman College of Engineering, the division bench clarified in its ruling, while observing that the UGC was not competent to confer autonomous status to a college affiliated to BPUT.

Conferment of autonomy to an institution affiliated to BPUT is subject to orders, rules, regulations and guidelines framed by the Central government or the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the division bench said.