HC directive on AICTE courses

The High Court on Tuesday held that a No-objection certificate (NOC) from the government was not needed for conducting AICTE approved courses in the state. A Bench comprising Justice K M Joseph and Justice K Harilal passed the order while disposing of petitions filed by St Joseph’s Hospital Trust, Cherthala, and others challenging the university’s refusal to grant them affiliation for its MPharm courses in the absence of the government NOC. The court held that the government had no power to insist on the AICTE-approved institutions to obtain NOC for getting affiliation from state universities.

The court also quashed the circular issued by the government asking the Kerala University of Health and Allied Sciences to demand the government NOC from the institutes which sought affiliations for courses approved by the AICTE. The court pointed out that the state had no power to ask the university to demand the government NOC for giving affiliation.