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Breather for 44 deemed varsities
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, April 11
The Supreme Court today granted the government an additional 10 weeks to submit a fresh report on the academic standards of 44 Deemed Universities that had been threatened with de-recognition for “poor” quality education. It, however, allowed the institutions to enjoy their deemed status till July19, which means they would be in a position to go ahead with admissions for the 2011-12 session that starts in June.

A Bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma posted the next hearing for July 19, extending till then its order restraining the government objection raised by one of the institutions, the JRN Rajasthan VidyaPeeth Deemed University, contending that Sunil Kumar was the Convenor of the PN Tandon Committee, which had recommended the de-recognition of these institutions after finding that they lacked proper faculty and infrastructural facilities.

Today, the SC also effectively eliminated the role of the Tandon Committee in the process of re-assessment by directing the Thakur committee to hear the 44 institutions and submit its report to the government, which in turn would prepare “a reasoned report” and hand it over to the court for deciding their status.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Indira Jaisingh, appearing for the Centre, had sought three months additional time - one month for the Thakur committee to hear the 44 institutions, another for finalising its recommendations and a further one month for the government to prepare its report based on the panel’s recommendations.