Statutory Duty of Universities to Timely Forward Affiliation Recommendations to State Government for Approval

The petitioner, Secretary of Balmiki Singh Degree College, Gopalganj, moved the High Court seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Jai Prakash University to forward a proposal for permanent affiliation (Session 2026-2030) to the State Government

Despite a Statutory Committee inspecting the college and recommending it for permanent affiliation—as evidenced by Letter Nos. 5220(R) and 5221(R) dated 05.05.2026—the University failed to forward the necessary documentation to the State

This inaction prevented the State from making a final decision and resulted in the college being excluded from the 'Samarth Portal', thereby barring student admissions for the new academic session

1. Whether the University is legally obligated to forward the Statutory Committee's recommendations to the State Government for final approval of permanent affiliation under the Bihar Universities Act

2. Whether the petitioner's institution is entitled to have its name uploaded on the Samarth Portal to facilitate student admissions once the affiliation process is underway

Section 21(2)(d) of the Bihar Universities Act, which governs the procedure for the grant of permanent affiliation by the State Government based on University recommendations

The principle of administrative accountability, which mandates that once a statutory body completes an inspection and makes a recommendation, the forwarding authority must act within a reasonable timeframe to prevent prejudice to the institution

The Court observed that the University’s delay was unjustifiable given that the internal statutory requirements (inspection and recommendation) had already been completed by May 2026

Justice Harish Kumar reasoned that keeping the matter pending would serve no purpose and would continue to cause irreparable harm to the institution's ability to admit students

The court linked the University's duty to forward documents to the State’s duty to pass a final order, noting that the State cannot exercise its discretion under the Act until the University fulfills its ministerial task of transmitting the file

The integration into the 'Samarth Portal' was identified as a consequential administrative action contingent upon the validation of the affiliation status

the Director of Higher Education (Respondent No. 4) was directed to consider the proposal and pass an appropriate order regarding permanent affiliation within a further two weeks. If the claim is found in order, the respondents must pass consequential orders to upload the college's name on the Samarth Portal to allow admissions