In Brief
Seven students enrolled in engineering programmes through open distance learning at a deemed university in 2004–2005 sought a declaration that their degrees were valid without AICTE approval. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, holding that the petitioners were covered by earlier directions in Orissa Lift Irrigation v. Rabi Shankar Patro, which required such students to clear AICTE-conducted tests to validate their degrees. The Court clarified that deemed universities, unlike State/Central Universities, require prior AICTE approval for technical courses and cannot claim exemption based on the Bharathidasan judgment.
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