The National Council for Teachers Education vs Association of NCTE Approved Colleges Trust and Ors.

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 – 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]