New Delhi, Mar 25: The Supreme Court has restrained all deemed-to-be universities from taking any admission to engineering courses without prior approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel, R F Nariman and U U Lalit passed its order on a plea by the technical education regulator, AICTE.

"In the meanwhile, there will stay on admissions without the approval of the AICTE," the court ordered.

Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, representing the AICTE, contended that the apex court by its judgement in "the Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation Ltd on November 3, last had clearly stated that it was impermissible to impart technical education through distance or correspondence mode.

It was held that deemed-to-be universities can continue or commence imparting of engineering course only with prior approval from the AICTE.

But after the UGC and AICTE issued a public notice stating the universities concerned had to obtain approval from the AICTE if they wished to continue or commence engineering course in 2018-19, several of them approached the Punjab and Haryana, Rajasthan, Madras, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts. Those institutes contended the apex court's judgement was confined to imparting education through distance mode only.

The AICTE sought a direction to transfer the pending writ petitions to the Delhi High Court.

"In order to protect the interests of the gullible students so that they are not left in lurch subsequently, interim orders should be passed," the law officer contended.