Aditya Institute Of Technology Through Its Founder-Cum-Chairman Devendra Gupta vs Government Of Nct Of Delhi

$~182
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of decision: 20.07.2026
+ W.P.(C) 8724/2026 & CM APPL. 40935/2026
ADITYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY THROUGH ITS
FOUNDER-CUM-CHAIRMAN DEVENDRA GUPTA
.....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Aseem Mehrotra, Ms. Deeksha
Mehrotra, Advs.

versus

GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI
.....Respondent
Through: Mr. Dhruv Rohatgi, Panel Counsel
with Ms. Chandrika Sachdeva, Mr.
Dhruv Kumar, Advs. for GNCTD
Mr. B.S.Rawat CI DTTE
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH

: JASMEET SINGH, J ( ORAL )


1. This is a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India seeking the following prayers: -
“a) issue an appropriate writ, direction or order in the
certiorari quashing the requirement as laid down in Clause
9 in the Information Bulletin of Respondent, Annexure P-1,
which restricts admission to Full Time Diploma Courses on
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the basis of Common Entrance Test for the academic
session 2026-27 being arbitrary and violative of Article 14
of the Constitution of India;
b) issue an appropriate writ, direction or Order 'in the
nature of mandamus commanding the Respondent to permit
the petitioner to admit students for the Four Full Time
Diploma Courses, namely Diploma Courses in Electronics
and Communication. Engineering; Computer Engineering;
Medical Lab Technology and I.T. Enabled Services &
Management with 40 intake capacity for the academic
session 2026-27 on the basis of the marks obtained by them
th
in Class 10 Examination and the students who have
registered themselves with Delhi Skilled and
Entrepreneurship University for the academic session 2026-
27;…”
2. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner institute is being run
by Dr. R.N. Gupta Technical Education Society and has been
imparting technical education in Pharmacy since 1995-96 with prior
approval of All India Council for Technical Education (“AICTE”).
The petitioner is also affiliated with the respondent Board of
Technical Education (“BTE”) .
3. In 2019, the Government of NCT of Delhi enacted the Delhi Skilled
Entrepreneurship University Act, 2019 (“DSEU”) . After the
enactment of DSEU, all Government run Polytechnic Institutes
became a part of DSEU and the names of the institutes were also
changed. The eligibility criteria and the admission process were as per
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the norms of the DSEU.
4. The DSEU conducted Common Entrance Test (“CET”) for admission
in diploma for all Diploma level admissions in Government aided and
private institutions.
5. The petitioner had filed a writ petition bearing W.P.(C) No.
13677/2021, seeking admission of students who could not take the
Common Entrance Test wherein the Court disposed of the petition by
holding that CET was in existence since long and the Court would be
slow in interfering unless arbitrariness or perversity was established.
In the year 2023, the petitioner’s name was included in the
Information Bulletin issued by Board of Technical Education.
However, the petitioner was placed under the No Admission category.
The petitioner filed a W.P. (C) No. 10009/2023 assailing the same.
The petitioner was granted interim relief. The said petition is still
pending. For the year 2026-27 the petitioner was issued extension of
approval by AICTE and the registration commenced on 04.05.2026.
6. The petitioner is now aggrieved by Clause No. 9 of the Information
Bulletin of respondent, which restricts the admission to Full-time
Diploma Courses on the basis of CET examination for academic
session 2026-2027.
7. Mr. Mehrotra, learned counsel for the petitioner draws my attention to
the Information Bulletin under DSEU and further draws my attention
to the eligibility criteria for the year 2025-26 which reads as under:
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8. He again draws my attention to the 2026-27 Information Bulletin,
which again describes the same qualification, which reads as under:

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9. He further has drawn my attention to the eligibility criteria applicable
to the petitioner, i.e. a privately run institution, wherein the Clause
No. 9 states that CET is compulsory. The same reads as under: (pdf
98)

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10. Mr. Rohatgi, learned standing counsel, draws my attention to the
Counter Affidavit of the respondent and more particularly, paragraph
Nos. 4, 5 6 and 7 which reads as under:
“4. Till the academic session 2020-21, the Board of
Technical Education conducting the admissions through
Common Entrance Test and online counselling to 19
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Institutions which includes 11 Govt. Institute of Technology,
01 Govt, aided institute and 07 privately managed institutes,
duly approved by All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE)/ Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)/ Council for
Architecture (CoA), that are affiliated to BTE.
5. The Government of NCT of Delhi vide Cabinet decision
No.2955 dated 2nd March, 2021 has approved the proposal
for merger /integration of all 11 Government institutions of
Technology (Polytechnics) into Delhi Skill and
Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) from the academic
year 2021- 22 and approval of Hon'ble LG for the same was
conveyed vide notification No.F.1 (221) Inclusion of Poly
&1TI/DSEU/SB/DTTE/2020/ 584 dated 16.04.2021. At
present, only 01 Govt, aided institute, 07 privately managed
institutes duly approved by All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE)/Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)
running various diploma level courses under the ambit of
Board of Technical Education Delhi, Govt, of NCT Delhi.
6. It is most respectfully submitted that the Delhi Skill and
Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) was appointed as the
"designated agency" for conducting the Common Entrance
Test (CET) and the counselling process for admissions to
private and Government-aided diploma level institutes
affiliated with the Board of Technical Education (BTE),
Delhi, vide Notification No. F.161(5)/
ACAD./ADM./2021/769-75 dated 20.07.2021. The said
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arrangement was further continued and reaffirmed vide
Corrigendum No. F.2(7)/203/Acad.Admission/BTE/
2023/CD-033726487/2233 dated 23.05.2023, whereby
DSEU conducted the Common Entrance Test (CET) and
counselling process for all Institutes of Technology running
diploma-level courses under DSEU as well as the institutes
affiliated with the Board of Technical Education (BTE),
Delhi, from the academic session 2021-22 onwards but
DSEU regretted to conduct the Common Entrance Test and
counseling for the Institutes affiliated with Board of
Technical Education (BTE) from the current session 2024-
25 and suggested that BTE to make an alternative
arrangement for conducting Common Entrance Test (CET)
and counseling for admissions of the institutes affiliated
with BTE.
7. It is most respectfully submitted that Section 13 of the
Delhi Diploma Level Technical Education Institutions
(Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission,
Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to
Ensure Equity and Excellence) Act 2007 (Delhi Act 7 of
2007) provides that admissions to an institution shall,
subject to the provisions of the Act, be made through a
Common Entrance Test (CET) to be conducted by the
designated agency, in the prescribed manner. The proviso
thereto further stipulates that management seats may be
advertised and filled by the institution from amongst
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candidates who have qualified the Common Entrance Test,
in a transparent manner, based on merit in the qualifying
examination, in the manner prescribed.”
11. He states that the institutions run under the DSEU Act are not
required to conduct a CET. However, it is compulsorily required
under the BTE category to hold CET.
12. I am unable to agree with the contentions of the learned counsel for
the respondent as the private and government run institutions are
providing the same diploma and are imparting the same education and
there is no reason as to why the government aided institutions can do
away without holding CET but the additional eligibility condition of
holding a CET has been placed on the likes of petitioner institutions
i.e. a private institution under BTE.
13. It is not the petitioner who had an option to opt for an affiliation under
the DSEU or the BTE and it was done by the Government of NCT on
its own. Furthermore, it is a settled principle laid down in West
Bengal v. Anwar Ali Sarkar, AIR 1952 SC 75 that the classification
are to be in consonance with Article 14 i.e. it must be founded upon
intelligible differentia and should have rational nexus to the object
sought to be achieved.
14. In S. Seshachalam v. Bar Council of T.N., (2014) 16 SCC 72 the
Hon’ble Supreme Court held as under:
“21. Article 14 of the Constitution of India states that:
“14.Equality before law.—The State shall not deny to any
person equality before the law or the equal protection of the
laws within the territory of India.”
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Article 14 forbids class legislation but it does not forbid
reasonable classification. The classification, however, must
not be “arbitrary, artificial or evasive” but must be based
on some real and substantial bearing, a just and reasonable
relation to the object sought to be achieved by the
legislation. Article 14 applies where equals are treated
differently without any reasonable basis. But where equals
and unequals are treated differently, Article 14 does not
apply. Class legislation is that which makes an improper
discrimination by conferring particular privileges upon a
class of persons arbitrarily selected from a large number of
persons all of whom stand in the same relation to the
privilege granted and between those on whom the privilege
is conferred and the persons not so favoured, no reasonable
distinction or substantial difference can be found justifying
the inclusion of one and the exclusion of the other from such
privilege.
22. While Article 14 forbids class legislation, it does not
forbid reasonable classification of persons, objects and
transactions by the legislature for the purpose of achieving
specific ends. But classification must not be “arbitrary,
artificial or evasive”. It must always rest upon some real
and substantial distinction bearing a just and reasonable
relation to the object sought to be achieved by the
legislation. Classification to be reasonable must fulfil the
following two conditions: firstly, the classification must be
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founded on the intelligible differentia which distinguishes
persons or things that are grouped together from others left
out of the group. Secondly, the differentia must have a
rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the
Act. The differentia which is the basis of the classification
and the object of the Act are two distinct things. What is
necessary is that there must be nexus between the basis of
classification and the object of the Act. It is only when there
is no reasonable basis for a classification that legislation
making such classification may be declared
discriminatory.”
15. In the present factual matrix, I am of the view that there exists no
intelligible differentia to subject the institutes affiliated with DSEU
and BTE to different assessment mechanism. This given bifurcation is
an administrative/ executive decision of the respondent to merge
certain government institutions into DSEU while the remaining
institutions inclusive of private institutions such as that of the
petitioner’s to be continued under the BTE by default and not by
choice.
16. The substance of classification in this present case clearly violates
Article 14 of the Constitution of India as the petitioner and the
similarly situated institutions are performing similar functions as
those which are under DSEU. There are two different parallel
th
mechanisms for admission being the CET on one hand and Class X
marks without CET on the other. The two different parallel
mechanisms for institutions offering same diploma course have no
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rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved, which is granting
admissions to competent and eligible students.
17. As per paragraph No. 7 of the counter affidavit, learned counsel for
the respondent relied on Section 13 of the Delhi Diploma Level
Technical Education Institutions Act, 2007 (“ 2007 Act ”). The Section
13 of the 2007 Act has been made selectively applicable to the
institutions under BTE and the institutions under DSEU have been
kept out of its purview. This selective application, in my view is
violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India as notwithstanding
this provision being in place, the respondent has explicitly exempted
institutions under the DSEU from the CET requirement. No reasons
have been ascribed for the same.
18. This classification is ex-facie arbitrary as the students who seek
admission in private institutes are put to disadvantageous position in
comparison to DSEU because of the mandatory criteria of CET is
being applicable only to institutes under BTE. The respondent has
created an arbitrary classification and no intelligible differentia has
been made out.
19. For the said reasons, the Clause No. 9 of the Information Bulletin
issued by the respondent is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution
of India and is hereby, set aside.
20. For the academic year 2026-27, the CET had already been conducted,
and candidates have been allotted petitioner institute, the same is not
to be interfered with, for the current academic year. However, in case
there are any seats vacant (including management quota), the
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petitioner shall be entitled to admit students based on Class X
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results.
21. The petition is disposed of in aforesaid terms.



JASMEET SINGH, J
JULY 20, 2026/sp
(Corrected and released on 29.07.2026)
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