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The Madras High Court today stayed a University Grants Commission order keeping in abeyance grant of sanction for Annamalai Univeresity's 259 programmes under the Distance Education mode for 2015-16 academic year.

Justice M M Sundresh passed the interim order on a petition by the University based in Chidambaram and issued notice to the UGC and its affiliated unit Distant Education Bureau (DEB), which had passed the August 14,2015 order, returnable within eight weeks.

The DEB had in its order informed the University that it has kept in abeyance grant of sanction for commencement of 259 programmes through the Distance Education mode.

The University applied for grant of recognition/approval for conducting 259 Distance Education programmes, including 162 offered in the previous year. But it was informed by the UGC and the DEB that recognition for distance education courses offered by 31 universities, including Annamalai University, across the country had been cancelled for 2015-16.

The petitioner submitted that the order did not mention anywhere the word 'cancellation' of permission and only said that it has kept in abeyance (sanction) till a final judgment was delivered on an appeal pending in court.

The university contended that without cancellation or de-recognition or disapproval of the permission enjoyed by it for several decades, the UGC cannot put it under "No admission Category" for 2015-16. Stating that admissions for distance education mode had already been done, the petitioner said it was not given any opportunity before passing the order.