The National Council for Teachers Education v. Association of Ncte Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 441 : 2026 INSC 953
The National Council for Teachers Education
v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
(Civil Appeal No. 12179 of 2026)
03 September 2026
[Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and
Alok Aradhe, JJ.]
Issue for Consideration
Issue arose as regards the regulatory powers of the National
Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to call Teacher Education
Institutes (TEIs) to upload Performance Appraisal Report.
Headnotes†
National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 – s.12(k) –
Power and functions of National Council for Teacher
Education (NCTE) – Member Secretary of the Executive
Committee of NCTE issued Public Notice calling upon all
the Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) to submit annual
Performance Appraisal Report online, and make necessary
payments – TEIs challenged the Public Notice on the ground
that only the Council could have issued such direction, and
there existed no empowerment of the Executive Committee to
issue such Public Notice – Single Judge dismissed the writ
petition, however, the Division Bench allowed the appeals –
Correctness:
Held: There is ample empowerment of the Council as well as the
Executive Committee to call for annual Performance Appraisal
Report from institutions imparting teacher education – Such power
clearly traceable to s.12(k), whereunder the Council could evolve
suitable performance appraisal system, norms and mechanisms
for enforcing accountability on recognised institutions and in
exercise of such a function, the Council deliberated on the issue
and authorised Executive Committee to implement it through
a formal proforma – Thereafter, it is the duty of the Executive
Committee to carry forward the mandate of the Council – This
is exactly what the Member Secretary did by issuing the Public
Notice calling upon the TEIs to file Performance Appraisal Report –
442 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
It cannot be understood as to how a regulatory measure of a
statutory body, empowered to achieve planned and coordinated
development of teacher education system in the country could
be restrained from calling upon the TEIs to file Performance
Appraisal Report – Even without a specific empowerment under
the statute, such a regulatory measure can always be incidental
and ancillary to the duties and functions of a regulator – As
there is a performance audit of NCTE itself by the CAG, it is but
natural and incidental that NCTE would require the stakeholders,
over which it exercises the regulatory jurisdiction, to provide the
necessary Performance Appraisal Report – It is necessary for
the Council and its bodies to ensure accountability of educational
institutions – Apart from the duty to ensure that the executive
authority/statutory bodies do not exercise powers that are
not vested in them, Constitutional courts also have a positive
duty to ensure that the regulators do exercise their powers
effectively, efficiently and in an accountable manner – Courts
cannot adopt a technical or a pedantic view of the action taken
by the regulators – Public Notice, apart from requiring the TEIs
to upload Performance Appraisal Report on the designated portal
also required the institutions to make certain payments which is
in the nature of process fee, an incidental and ancillary power
that the regulator must have – Thus, the Public Notice issued
by the Member Secretary of the Executive Committee legal and
valid and the Division Bench erred in setting aside the said Public
Notice – Council as well as the Executive Committee within its
jurisdiction to call TEIs to upload Performance Appraisal Report.
[Paras 10, 21-25]
Case Law Cited
Dinesh Biwaji Ashtikar v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. [2026] 2
SCR 168 : 2026 SCC OnLine SC 56; Vijay Rajmohan v. CBI
[2022] 19 SCR 563 : (2023) 1 SCC 329 – referred to.
Books and Periodicals Cited
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President Radhakrishnan’s
Speeches and Writings, May 1962–May 1964, “Universities and
Teachers,” speech at the inauguration of Punjabi University,
Patiala, 24 June 1962, Publications Division, Government of
India, p. 184 – referred to.
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 443
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
List of Acts
Constitution of India; Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009; National Council for Teacher Education
Act, 1993.
List of Keywords
National Council for Teacher Education; Regulatory powers
of National Council for Teacher Education; Teacher Education
Institutes; Performance Appraisal Report; Executive Committee
of NCTE; Public Notice.
Case Arising From
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 12179
of 2026
From the Judgment and Order dated 13.03.2023 of the High
Court of Delhi at New Delhi in LPA No. 190 of 2021
Appearances for Parties
Advs. for the Appellant(s):
Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Ms. Manisha T Karia, Sr.Adv.,
Ms. Geetanjali Mohan, Anuj Kapoor, Ms. Ananya Arora, Ms. Shreya
Gupta, Ms. Saumya Tiwari, Arth Arora, Deepin Deepak Sahni,
Varun Khetwani, Adhish Saxena, Puneet.
Advs. for the Respondent(s):
Sanjay Sharawat, Sr.Adv., Abhishek Singh, Ravi Kant,
Ms. Priyanka Madavram, Karan Chaudhary, Ms. Indira Goswami,
Amitesh Kumar, Mrs. Priti Kumari, Chandra Prakash, Pankaj
Kumar Ray, Vivek Singh, C.p. Rajwar, Rohan Chandra, Krishan
Kumar.
Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court
Judgment
1. Leave granted.
2. Though free and compulsory elementary education to all children
aged 6 to 14 years has now attained the status of an enforceable
fundamental right, we have not bestowed on teacher education the
attention that it deserves. Our former President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan,
444 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
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whose birthday we celebrate as Teachers’ Day, also observed that,
“Teachers have a great deal to do with the shaping of the minds
and hearts of our youth. This is so obvious that it does not need
repetition, but in spite of much repetition we do not seem to have a
real understanding of the place of the teacher in the present context.”1
2.1 In this appeal, we are concerned with the regulatory powers
of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)
established to achieve planned and coordinated development
of the teacher education system. Having noted that the
interpretation adopted by the High Court while setting aside
the action of the National Council for Teacher Education calling
upon the Teacher Education Institutes (TEI) to submit annual
Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) as illegal and arbitrary
actually impairs its regulatory jurisdiction, we have allowed
the appeal, and set aside the judgment of the High Court by
declaring the correct position of law.
3. Teacher education has assumed greater importance after our
Constitution formally recognized elementary education for all children
of the age of 6 to 14 as a fundamental right under Article 21A of
the Constitution.2 Following the Constitutional mandate, Parliament
enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
Act, 20093 (“RTE Act”). The RTE Act, under Section 23, recognizes
the importance of qualified teachers for effective exercise of the right
to education of children and therefore provides for an ‘academic
authority’ to lay down the minimum qualifications. Section 23 is here
for ready reference;
“Section 23. Qualifications for appointment and terms
and conditions of service of teachers
(1) Any person possessing such minimum qualifications,
as laid down by an academic authority, authorised
by the Central Government, by notification, shall be
1 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President Radhakrishnan’s Speeches and Writings, May 1962–May 1964,
“Universities and Teachers,” speech at the inauguration of Punjabi University, Patiala, 24 June 1962,
Publications Division, Government of India, p. 184.
2 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.
3 Article 21A. Right to education: The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of
the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 445
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
eligible for appointment as a teacher.
(2) Where a State does not have adequate institutions
offering courses or training in teacher education,
or teachers possessing minimum qualifications as
laid down under sub-section (1) are not available in
sufficient numbers, the Central Government may, if it
deems necessary, by notification, relax the minimum
qualifications required for appointment as a teacher,
for such period, not exceeding five years, as may
be specified in that notification:
Provided that a teacher who, at the commencement
of this Act, does not possess minimum qualifications
as laid down under sub-section (1), shall acquire
such minimum qualifications within a period of five
years:
[Provided further that every teacher appointed or
in position as on the 31st March, 2015, who does
not possess minimum qualifications as laid down
under sub-section (1), shall acquire such minimum
qualifications within a period of four years from the
date of commencement of the Right of Children to
Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act,
2017 (24 of 2017).]”
The ‘academic authority’, contemplated under Section 23, is the
National Council for Teacher Education (hereinafter referred to as
the Council), established under the National Council for Teacher
Education Act, 1993, (hereinafter referred to as the NCTE Act).
4. The development of a child, for that matter, the life of a child is
integrally connected to the role of an elementary school teacher.
In Dinesh Biwaji Ashtikar v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. 4, this
Court declared that the real consequence of identifying the right of
elementary education as a fundamental right is in the recognition of
five duty bearers being; (i) the appropriate Government5, (ii) the local
4 2026 SCC OnLine SC 56.
5 Section 6 of the RTE Act.
446 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
authority6, (iii) the neighbouring school7, (iv) the parents/guardians8,
and (v) the elementary school teacher 9.
5. As regards the fifth duty bearer, the elementary school teacher, is
concerned, this Court in Dinesh Biwaji Ashtikar (supra), also observed:
“7.5 The fifth duty bearer; is the elementary school
teacher. There is no human resource or value higher
than development of a student’s mind and character.
Therefore, the elementary school teachers have the most
important role in nation building and as such, they have
to be treated with utmost respect and care. A society
that does not take care of its elementary school teachers
is bound to fail in securing the constitutional objective.”
6. In order to fasten these duty bearers with the obligation to ensure
quality education, we must add to the above, sixth and seventh
duty bearers. The sixth10 being institutions recognised for imparting
courses to educate and train teachers, the Teacher Education
Institutions (TEI), as defined under Section 2(e) of the NCTE Act.
This obligates them to carry out programmes of education, research
and training of persons for equipping them to teach pre-primary,
primary, secondary and senior secondary stages in schools. This
obligation extends to imparting non-formal education, part-time
education, adult education and correspondence education. These
institutions have the obligation to seek recognition and abide by
such principles as are provided in Sections 14 to 17 of Chapter IV
of the NCTE Act.
7. The seventh11 duty bearer must be the National Council for Teacher
Education. The Council is entrusted with the duty to achieve
planned and coordinated development of the teacher education
system throughout the country. The Council is also to ensure that
the TEIs imparting teacher education function effectively, efficiently
and conduct their affairs with integrity. We have no hesitation in
6 Section 9 of the RTE Act.
7 Section 12 of the RTE Act.
8 Section 10 of the RTE Act.
9 Section 24 of the RTE Act.
10 See under Section 2(e) of the NCTE Act
11 Section 3,12,19 & 20 of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993.
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 447
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
declaring that the duties to be performed by the Council and the
bodies that are constituted along with it, such as the Executive
Committee and the Regional Committees, are perhaps the highest
of all the duty bearers.
8. Short facts that are necessary for our adjudication are that the
proceedings before the High Court commenced with TEI’s assailing
a “Public Notice” dated 22.09.2019 issued by the Member Secretary
of the Executive Committee, the notice is as follows:
“PUBLIC NOTICE
1. The National Council for Teacher Education is a
statutory body that came into existence in pursuance of
the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (No.
73 of 1993) on the 17” August, 1995 to achieve planned
and coordinated development of the teacher education
system throughout the country, the regulation and proper
maintenance of Norms and Standards in the teacher
education system and for matters connected therewith.
2. As part of one of the conditions of recognition, NCTE
insists on submission of a Performance Appraisal Report
annually which includes annual statement of accounts
duly audited by a Chartered Accountant. Similarly, in
section 12(j) & (k) of the NCTE Act, 1993, the following
is mandated –
“(j) examine and review periodically the
implementation of the norms, guidelines and
standards laid down by the Council, and to suitably
advise the recognised institutions;
(k) evolve suitable performance appraisal system,
norms and mechanism for enforcing accountability
on recognised institutions; “
Furthermore, Section 17 of the NCTE Act, 1993 stipulates
as under:-
.
.
.
448 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
4. The Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) is now
required to be mandatorily submitted by all TEIs online on
the specially designed portal http://ncte.gov.in/Website/
PARsysten.aspx), PAR should be submitted for the
academic year 2018-2019 through online method and
make necessary payments as under:-
(i) Central and State Govt. institutions are required
to pay Rs 5000/- per institution, regardless of
number of courses being run.
(ii) All other categories to pay Rs. 15000/- per
institution, regardless of number of courses being
run.
5. Timeline to submit the online PAR shall be from 23 rd
September 2019 to 31 st December 2019 (mid night).
6. Non-submission of PAR will attract action under section
17(1) of NCTE Act, 1993.
(Sanjay Awasthi)
Member Secretary”
9. The challenge to the Public Notice is inter alia on the ground that
the Council alone could have issued and implemented a notice of
this nature. It has also been contended, on the basis of the Minutes
of Meeting of the General Body of the Council, that there existed no
empowerment of the Executive Committee to issue such a Public
Notice. Though the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition,
Division Bench of the High Court allowed the appeals by holding;
“16. A perusal of the said agenda shows that it was
discussed in the meeting to insist on Performance
Appraisal Report and to put in place a system of Managing
Information System. The Council, after discussing the
agenda, approved the proposal of authorising the NCTE
to proceed in the matter through a proforma which was to
be developed by NCTE for this purpose. There is nothing
to indicate that the porforma, which has been uploaded
with the notice under challenge, was placed before the
NCTE in any meeting and has been approved by the
NCTE. There is nothing on record to show that the
function of the Council as laid down in Section 12(k)
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 449
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
NCTE Act which is to evolve suitable performance
appraisal system, had been delegated to the Member
Secretary as per Section 27 of the NCTE Act. This
Court, at this moment, is not going into the question as to
whether the function of evolving a suitable performance
approval report could be delegated at all or not. Be that
as it may. The decision of the Council was specific that
the porforma was to be developed by the NCTE and
had to be approved by the NCTE and there is nothing
on record to show that this process has been followed.
(…)
19. …In the absence of any material to show that the
proforma attached with the notice under challenge
was evolved or even approved by the NCTE.
The notice under challenge which necessitates
on the Teacher Education Institutions running
NCTE recognized Teacher Education Courses to
file a Performance Appraisal Report annually is
unsustainable and, therefore, the same is liable
to be quashed as the same is in violation of the
provisions of the NCTE Act. This Court is not going
into the second question as to whether the amount of
Rs.5,000/- which is to be submitted by the Central and
State Government Institutions and Rs.15,000/- which
is to be submitted by all other category of institutions
along with the Performance Appraisal Report is in the
nature of fee or in the nature of tax as the same is an
academic exercise for the present.”
(emphasis supplied)
10. We are not in agreement with the approach adopted by the High
Court. When a High Court is called upon to examine the exercise of
power by a statutory regulator, the approach must be to see whether
the functioning of the authority is in violation of any mandatory
provision or that it has transgressed the power that is vested in it.
As the High Court was called upon to exercise judicial review over
the power exercised by the Member Secretary, it is necessary to
examine powers and duties in the context of the larger mandate of
the Act and the Council.
450 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
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11. The NCTE Act was enacted in the year 1993, with a view to
“achieving planned and co-ordinated development of the teacher
education system throughout the country, the regulation and proper
maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education
system”.12 Teacher Education, as contemplated under the NCTE
Act is defined in Section 2(l) as follows:
“2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires,—
(l) “teacher education” means programmes of
education, research or training of persons for equipping
them to teach at pre-primary, primary, secondary and
senior secondary stages in schools, and includes non-
formal education, part-time education, adult education
and correspondence education;”
12. The definition of teacher education transcends programmes of
education and research for training and equipping the teachers to
teach pre-primary, primary, secondary and senior secondary stages
in schools. It also contemplates acquiring the necessary training to
impart life skills to children through non-formal means of education.
We have already noted that the qualifications for appointment of
elementary school teacher are to be prescribed by the academic
authority, which is the Council established under the NCTE Act. The
Council, established under Section 3 of the Act, is a body corporate
and thus has the primary duty under Section 12, “to take all such steps
as it may think fit for ensuring planned and coordinated development
of teacher education and for determination and maintenance of
standards of teacher education”. For this purpose, amongst other
functions, the Council is also empowered to, (i) conduct surveys
[S.12(a)], (ii) give recommendations to government universities for
preparation of plans and programs for teacher education [S.12(b)],
(iii) coordinate and monitor teacher education [S.12(c)], (iv) frame
guidelines for minimum qualification, minimum eligibility criteria for
admission, selection for course [S. 12(e)], (v) lay down guidelines
for compliance by recognized institutions for starting new courses
[S.12(f)], (vi) evolve suitable performance appraisal systems to
enforce accountability [S.12(k)].
12 See Preamble of the NCTE Act.
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 451
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
13. For enforcing and implementing its functions, the statute also
empowers the Central Government under Section 31 to make
necessary rules which inter alia enables the Council to issue rules
to provide “fees payable on application for obtaining recognition
under sub-section (2) of Section 14 and for obtaining permission
under sub-section (2) of Section 15.” The Act also empowers the
Council to make regulations under Section 32.
14. Apart from the establishment of the Council, the Act also constitutes
bodies such as the Executive Committee under Section 19 and the
Regional Committee under Section 20. In contrast to the constitution
of the Regional Committee, which is to be constituted by way of a
notification in the Official Gazette, the Executive Committee does
not require such a notification. The same is constituted by the
Council to discharge such functions as are assigned to it. Section
19, which provides for the composition of the Executive Committee,
is reproduced for ready reference;
19. Executive Committee.—(1) The Council shall
constitute a Committee, called Executive Committee for
discharging such functions as may be assigned to it by
the Council or as may be determined by regulations.
(2) The Executive Committee shall consist of the following
members, namely:—
(a) the Chairperson;
(b) the Vice-Chairperson;
(c) the Member-Secretary;
(d) the Secretary to the Government of India in the
Department dealing with Education, ex officio;
...
(h) four experts in teacher education to be nominated
by the Central Government;
(i) four State representatives to be nominated by
the Central Government in such manner as may be
prescribed;
(j) the Chairpersons of the Regional Committees.
452 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
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(3) The Chairperson and the Member-Secretary of the
Council shall respectively, function as the Chairperson
and the Member-Secretary of the Executive Committee.
15. The Executive Committee is the body which actually discharges
the functions of the Council. It is an important institution created
by the statute, and has the obligation to ensure that the purpose
and object of the Act, i.e. to achieve a planned and co-ordinated
development of teacher education system is implemented in its
letter and spirit.
16. The RTE Act which was enacted in 2009 is integrally connected to
the NCTE Act passed in 1993. While RTE Act declares the positive
right and fastens certain responsibilities on certain duty bearers,
the NCTE Act seeks to institutionalise teacher education system
through the institutions, the TEIs and the statutory regulators,
the Council and the Executive Committee. The significance of
institutionalising the functioning of these duty bearers is not difficult
to conceive. If these institutions work effectively and efficiently, it
is but natural that the purpose and object of the legislation will be
achieved in a substantial measure. It is necessary to ensure that in
the functioning of these bodies, there is efficiency in administration,
efficiency through expertise, innovation through multi-disciplinary
composition, integrity through transparency and accountability,
and finally, accountability itself through regular review, audits and
assessments.
17. The statutory framework in which regulators are constituted, their
duties and the functions as well as the necessity to ensure that they
work effectively and efficiently are important to be borne in mind
before exercising judicial review.
18. Returning to the facts, from the minutes of the 48 th Meeting of the
General Body of the Council, it is to be noticed that the issue relating
to Annual Renewal of Recognition unfortunately got involved in
continuous and unending litigation initiated by various TEIs before
the High Courts. In the 48 th Meeting of the General Body held
on 05.02.2019, the Council considered the issue of Performance
Appraisal Report. The Minutes of Meeting on Agenda no. 3 and
the decision taken by the Council are extracted herein for ready
reference:
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 453
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
“MINUTES OF THE 48 TH MEETING OF THE
GENERAL BODY OF NCTE HELD ON 5 TH
FEBRUARY, 2019
Agenda Item No. 3: Consideration of the Performance
Appraisal Report (PAR) Linked Renewal of Recognition/
Permission of TEIs.
The Council in its 46th meeting held on 28th March 2017
vide agenda item no. 10 approved the Annual Renewal of
Recognition of Teacher Education Institutions recognized
by NCTE. Before the decision could be implemented a
large number of TEIs filed court cases across the country
in various High Courts.
2. A study of the various petitions filed in Courts revealed
that a regime of annual renewal of recognition would
not be feasible. Accordingly, it is proposed to insist on
Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) at this stage to
put in place a system of Managing Information System
(MIS), which was intended with the Agenda Item No.
10, as placed before the 46 th GB Meeting. Accordingly,
with same terms and conditions as already approved,
the “PAR” may be substituted for “Annual Renewal of
Recognition”. Proforma to be developed by NCTE.
3. The PAR, being part of the condition of recognition, will
be insisted upon Course wise and with fees chargeable
(as already approved in 46 th GB) accordingly.
4. The Council may consider the issue and accord its
approval.
Decision of the Council:
The agenda item was approved as proposed authorising
NCTE to proceed in the manner through a proforma to
be developed by NCTE for this purpose.”
19. It is evident from the above that while the issue relating to annual
renewal of recognition became litigious, the Council found it
necessary to insist on Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) to put
in place a system of managing information system. In this view,
454 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
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the Council deliberated on the question and suitably modified
the requirement of annual renewal recognition and called for a
Performance Appraisal Report. Having deliberated upon the issue,
the Council finally arrived at a decision, “approved as proposed,
authorising NCTE to proceed in the manner through a proforma to
be developed by NCTE for this purpose ”.
20. The Executive Committee, being the executive arm of the Council
authorised to implement the decision of the Council dated
05.02.2019, through its Member Secretary, issued the Public
Notice for implementing the requirement of Performance Appraisal
Report.
21. We are of the opinion that there is ample empowerment of the
Council as well as the Executive Committee to call for annual
Performance Appraisal Report from institutions imparting teacher
education. To start with, such a power is clearly traceable to
Section 12(k) of the Act, whereunder the Council could “evolve
suitable performance appraisal system, norms and mechanisms
for enforcing accountability on recognised institutions” and in
exercise of such a function, the Council deliberated on the issue and
authorised Executive Committee to implement it through a formal
proforma. Thereafter, it is the duty of the Executive Committee to
carry forward the mandate of the Council. This is exactly what the
Member Secretary did, when he issued the Public Notice dated
22.09.2019 calling upon the institutions running NCTE recognised
courses to file Performance Appraisal Report.
22. We fail to understand as to how a regulatory measure of a statutory
body, empowered to achieve planned and coordinated development
of teacher education system in the country could be restrained
from calling upon the TEIs to file Performance Appraisal Report.
We are of the opinion that even without a specific empowerment
under the statute, such a regulatory measure can always be
incidental and ancillary to the duties and functions of a regulator.
As there is a performance audit of NCTE itself by the Comptroller
and Auditor General of India (CAG), it is but natural and incidental
that NCTE would require the stakeholders, over which it exercises
the regulatory jurisdiction, to provide the necessary Performance
Appraisal Report.
[2026] 9 S.C.R. 455
The National Council for Teachers Education v.
Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.
23. It is necessary for the Council and its bodies to ensure accountability
of educational institutions. Accountability in itself is an essential
principle of administrative law. Judicial review of administrative action
undertaken by the Council will only be effective and meaningful
if accountability of Teacher Education Institutes is ensured by
it. Accountability has three essential constituent dimensions: (i)
responsibility, (ii) answerability and (iii) enforceability. Responsibility
requires identification of duties and performance obligations of
individuals and authorities. Answerability requires reasoned decision-
making and enforceability requires corrective action against lack
of responsibility and accountability. Accountability enables action
against officials or institutions for dereliction of duty and also ensures
that procedures and policies are improved upon. 13
24. Apart from the duty to ensure that the executive authority/statutory
bodies do not exercise powers that are not vested in them,
Constitutional courts also have a positive duty to ensure that
Authorities, more particularly, the regulators do exercise their powers
effectively, efficiently and in an accountable manner. In this context,
Courts cannot adopt a technical or a pedantic view of the action
taken by the regulators.
25. The Public Notice, apart from requiring the Teacher Education
Institution to upload Performance Appraisal Report on the designated
portal also required the institutions to make certain payments. This
payment is really in the nature of process fee which is again an
incidental and ancillary power that the regulator must have. Though
it was indicated to us that a decision on the impugned Public Notice
dated 22.09.2019 is unnecessary as subsequently, in the 53 rd
meeting the procedural and technical problem was rectified, we
found it necessary to give our judgment on this issue as there must
be clarity about the power and functions that statutory regulators
should exercise. In conclusion, we hold that the Public Notice issued
by the Member Secretary of the Executive Committee is legal and
valid and the Division Bench of the High Court committed an error
in setting aside the said Public Notice. The Council as well as the
Executive Committee is within its jurisdiction to call TEIs to upload
Performance Appraisal Report.
13 Vijay Rajmohan v. CBI (2023) 1 SCC 329.
456 [2026] 9 S.C.R.
Supreme Court Reports
26. For the reasons stated above, we allow the appeal, set aside the
judgment and order passed by the High Court of Delhi in LPA No.
190 of 2021 dated 13.03.2023. There shall be no order as to costs.
Result of the case: Appeal allowed.
†Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain