Red Fort blast: Al Falah University gets show-cause from NAAC over false accreditation claim
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New Delhi (PTI): The National Assessment and Accreditation Council has issued a show-cause notice to Al Falah University, which is under scanner following the Delhi blast, for displaying false certification on its website, officials said on Thursday.
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous government body that evaluates and certifies the quality of higher education institutions like colleges and universities.
In its show-cause notice, the NAAC said it has noted that the university, "which is neither accredited nor applied for accreditation by NAAC", has publicly displayed on its website that some of its colleges are NAAC-certified.
The notice quoted the website as reading, "Al Falah University is an endeavour of Al Falah Charitable Trust, which has been running three colleges on the campus, namely Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology (since 1997, Graded A by NAAC), Brown Hill College of Engineering and Technology (since 2008), and Al Falah School of Education and Training (since 2006, Graded A by NAAC)."
"This is absolutely wrong and misleading the public, especially the parents, students and stakeholders," the NAAC notice said.
The accreditation body has sought an explanation from the university and directed it to remove the portions on its website and other publicly available documents that claim false NAAC certification.
The accreditation for Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology expired in 2018, while that of Al Falah School of Education and Training expired in 2016, the notice said.
"The accreditation status of both the colleges has expired. Both the colleges have not yet volunteered for fresh Assessment and Accreditation process of the NAAC," the notice said.
According to its website, Al Falah University was established by the Haryana Legislative Assembly under the Haryana Private Universities Act.
It started as an engineering college in 1997. In 2013, the Al Falah Engineering College received A-category NAAC accreditation. In 2014, the Haryana government granted it university status. The Al Falah Medical College is also affiliated with the university.
According to several observers, in its early years, the Al Falah University presented itself as an excellent alternative to Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia for minority students pursuing quality education.
On Monday, a high-intensity blast ripped through a car near Red Fort in Delhi, killing 13 people and injuring several others, hours after the busting of a "white collar terror module" and the arrest of eight people, including three doctors. The arrested doctors were linked to the Al Falah University.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
