Delhi HC bars IIPM from offering MBA, BBA courses

Arindam Chaudhuri and the Indian Institute of Planning and Management, Delhi high court on Friday restrained them from offering MBA, BBA courses or advertising as a management and business school. Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also slapped a cost of Rs 25,000 on IIPM for misleading students by claiming to be a B-school even though it is not recognized by any statutory body including AICTE.

"IIPM admittedly does not have AICTE approval. It is thus not entitled to run a BBA or MBA course or to advertise itself as conducting any course or programme in management or to advertise itself as a management school or a business school or a B-school. We order accordingly," the court noted in its verdict, given on a PIL.

Indicting the institute for "misleading" students and the general public HC issued a series of directions for IIPM. "IIPM and its management or officials including its dean Arindam Chaudhuri are restrained with immediate effect from using the word "MBA, BBA, management course, management school, business school or B-school" in relation to the courses or programmes being conducted by them or in relation to the representations if any made to the public," the court said.

It also ordered Chaudhuri to prominently display on IIPM website that they are not recognized by any statutory body or authority. Further the court said IIPM must come clean on exact status of the foreign university, institution and/or its degree or certificate in the country of its origin, for whose degree or certificate the students are enrolling.

In his PIL petitioner B Mahesh Sharma highlighted how the central government, UGC and AICTE failed to check IIPM from fraudulently using "MBA/BBA" in relation to courses offered by it. Sharma complained Chadhuri and IIPM are "misleading, cheating and exploiting students attracted to the said Institute under the belief that they will acquire the qualification of MBA/BBA" even though it had no recognition. The petitioner said IIPM is neither a university within UGC norms nor is it a deemed university.