Punjab & Haryana HC Imposes ₹4 Lakh Cost On College Association For Filing 'Frivolous' Plea Challenging Regular Inspection Carried Out By University

The Punjab & Haryana High Court imposed a cost of Rs 4 lakh on the Association of Colleges which has been approved by the National Council for Teacher Education for filing a frivolous petition challenging regular inspection carried out by the University under which colleges are affiliated. Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sudhir Singh said, “It is quite evident that despite the law in regard to distinct concepts of affiliation and recognition, having been settled through various decisions of Apex Court, the petitioner-Association has filed this petition knowing very well about the consequences.” The Court added further that such frivolous and vexatious piece of litigation deserve to be discouraged and curbed since it led to wasting precious time and energy of this Court which could have been utilized for deciding more pressing matters. Referring to Schedule to Statute: 37 of the Maharishi Dayanand University, the Bech noted that, "it is obvious that that frequency of inspection prescribed under the said Statute of “once in every three years” is subject to the expression “ordinarily”, which obviously means that said frequency of once in every three years is not exhaustive. In light of the above, the Court dismissed the plea and imposed an exemplary cost on the petitioner-Association of Rs.4 lakhs to be deposited in the account of “Poor Patient Welfare Fund” in PGIMER, Chandigarh.