Authority: High Court of Orissa at Cuttack

Order Date: 12.08.2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioner: Balasore College of Engineering and Technology (BCET) represented by Senior Counsel Mr. Saurjya Kanta Padhi and Advocate Mr. Devi Prasad Dash.
  • Opposite Parties: (1) State of Odisha, (2) Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE), (3) State of Odisha (additional), (4) Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), (5) All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
  • Nature of Proceeding: Writ petition (W.P. (C) No.22973 of 2026) seeking mandatory directions to (i) include AICTE‑approved seats in OJEE‑2026 counseling, and (ii) grant provisional affiliation to BCET for the 2026‑27 academic session.
  • Key Facts:
  • AICTE approved on 09‑04‑2026: 150 UG seats (CSE), 120 MBA seats, and 30 MTech (CSE) seats (originally 36 seats approved, later reduced to 30 in petition).
  • BPUT unilaterally reduced seats to 120 UG CSE, 90 MBA, and 18 MTech CSE.
  • BCET argued the reduction violated AICTE approval and cited precedents: Black Diamond Technical Education Society v. State of Odisha (W.P.(C) No.12590 of 2019) and Trident Academy of Technology (W.P.(C) No.19441 of 2025).
  • BPUT relied on GITAM v. State of Odisha (W.P.(C) No.27040 of 2023) directing affiliation within two weeks subject to compliance.
  • Expert committee (Dr. Alok Ranjan Tripathy, Associate Professor, IMIT, Cuttack; Dr. Prakash Kumar Panda, Associate Professor, CUPGS, BPUT) inspected BCET on 15‑01‑2026 and reported deficiencies:

a) Need faculty with Ph.D. qualifications;

b) Maintain prescribed cadre ratio;

c) Improve faculty‑student ratio.

  • Deficiency report communicated to BCET Principal on 10‑04‑2026 (Annexure‑6). BCET had not remedied the issues as of the hearing.
  • OJEE counseling for 2026 had already concluded; schedule of e‑counseling was placed on record.
  • The last date for admission to the contested courses was 14‑08‑2026.

Final Outcome

  • The Court directed that if BCET removes the cited deficiencies and informs BPUT by 11:00 A.M. on 13‑08‑2026, BPUT shall conduct an inspection on the same day (13‑08‑2026) and communicate the outcome to BCET forthwith.
  • The writ petition and interlocutory application were disposed accordingly.
  • Parties may download the certified copy of the order from the High Court website; urgent certified copy can be obtained as per court rules.

Topics: Affiliation, Seat Allocation