When a High Court reviews a statutory regulator like the NCTE, must it examine only whether a mandatory provision was violated or power was transgressed?

Where a High Court is called upon to examine the exercise of power by a statutory regulator, the approach must be to see whether the functioning of the authority is in violation of any mandatory provision or that it has transgressed the power vested in it. Courts cannot adopt a technical or a pedantic view of the action taken by the regulator, and must ensure that regulators exercise their powers effectively, efficiently and in an accountable manner.

National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 — s.12(k) — s.19 — Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 — s.23 — Performance Appraisal Report — Executive Committee's regulatory power — Judicial review of statutory regulators — National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 — s.12(k) — Executive Committee's power to call for PAR — Held: Section 12(k) of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 empowers the Council to evolve a performance appraisal system for recognised institutions. Once the Council deliberates and authorises a proforma, the Executive Committee may implement it through its Member Secretary. (¶21) National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 — Incidental and ancillary regulatory power — Held further: A regulatory measure can be incidental and ancillary to a regulator's duties and functions even without specific empowerment under the statute. The Executive Committee's Public Notice calling for the Performance Appraisal Report falls within this incidental power. (¶22) Judicial Review — Scope of review over statutory regulators — Held further: In judicial review of a statutory regulator's action, a High Court must examine only whether the authority acted in violation of a mandatory provision or transgressed its vested power. Courts cannot adopt a technical or a pedantic view of the regulator's action. (¶10, 24) National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 — Process fee as incidental regulatory power — Held further: The payment accompanying the Performance Appraisal Report is in the nature of a process fee, itself an incidental and ancillary regulatory power. The Public Notice was legal and valid; the appeal is allowed and the High Court's judgment is set aside. (¶25, 26)

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