“Prima Facie Corrupt”: Jharkhand High Court Directs CBI Probe Into JUT-AICTE Over Non-Registration Of Students
Rushil Batra
17 Jan 2026 12:30 PM IST
The Jharkhand High Court has ordered a CBI investigation into the role of the Jharkhand University of Technology (JUT) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in a matter concerning technical students, observing that the case prima facie reflects corrupt practices by State authorities and has placed students' futures in jeopardy.
Justice Rajesh Kumar passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Dhanbad Institute of Technology, Dhanbad.
Making strong observations, the High Court compared the conduct of the authorities to that of traffic police who remove “No Entry/No Parking” boards only to trap commuters and extract fines, noting that a similar attitude appeared to have been adopted by JUT in the present case.
The Court recorded that AICTE had granted approval to the petitioner institute for the academic session 2025–26, pursuant to which students took admission and pursued their studies. However, despite this approval, JUT has not granted affiliation nor completed registration for 60 students of the Diploma in Electrical Engineering branch of the institute. The Court observed that the students were effectively “trapped” where they are admitted under valid approval but denied examination rights.
The High Court directed the CBI to conduct an investigation into how the students were allegedly trapped by AICTE and JUT, and who played what role in the entire process. The Court specifically directed:
“10. The Central Bureau of Investigation is directed to make investigation to the effect that :
I. How the students have been trapped by the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) and the Jharkhand University of Technology (JUT) ? And
II. Who have played what role in the trapping of the students?”
The CBI has been asked to submit its investigation report in a sealed cover within two weeks, and both JUT and AICTE have been directed to fully cooperate with the investigation.
The matter is scheduled to be taken up next on February 3, 2026.
Title: Dhanbad Institute of Technology v. State of Jharkhand & Ors.
Case Number: W.P.(C) No.95 of 2026.
Appearance: Mr. Rajveer Singh and Mr. Anurag Raj appeared for the Petitioner. Mr. M. K. Dubey, Mr. Ratnesh Kumar, Dr. A. K. and Mr. Sharan Toppo appeared for the Respondent.