Cuttack: The Orissa high court has struck down a letter issued by Madhusudan Law University (MLU) at Cuttack, which sought to downgrade the permanent affiliation of Gangadhar Mohapatra Law College in Puri to a provisional status.
The significant verdict was pronounced by the HC while adjudicating a writ petition filed by the governing body of the college, established in 1981 and permanently affiliated to Utkal University since 1996 for its LL.B course with 320 seats.
In its petition, the college challenged MLU’s letter of September 21, 2024, which declared its affiliation as ‘provisional’ following the formation of MLU. A division bench comprising Justice Dixit Krisha Shripad and Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo ruled that MLU’s action had no legal basis, TOI reported.
Referring to the notification dated April 7, 2021, which established MLU, the High Court said the notification clearly stated that all existing government and private law colleges in Odisha “shall cease to be affiliated from their respective universities from April 28, 2021 and shall stand affiliated to the Madhusudan Law University from that date.”
“The language used is clear and unambiguous. There is no clause that empowers MLU to convert permanent affiliations granted by other universities into provisional ones without any intervening legal event,” the court observed in the order of June 17.
“The fountain cannot rise above the source,” the bench remarked, stressing that the statutory powers of MLU must flow strictly from the establishing notification and relevant laws.
The bench clarified that while MLU retains regulatory control and authority to ensure academic standards across all affiliated colleges, including the petitioner, it cannot unilaterally alter the nature of pre-existing affiliations.
The court stated that the letter dated September 21, 2024, issued by MLU, “is set aside to the extent it declares the affiliation granted to the petitioner college to be provisional.”
While allowing the writ petition in part, the court reaffirmed MLU’s role in maintaining and regulating teaching standards, adding that Gangadhar Mohapatra Law College must continue to meet the academic and infrastructural standards as per existing rules.
