AICTE approval status of a college — RTI to AICTE

Priya lives in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Her son has just cleared his Class 12 boards and wants to study B.E. Computer Science. A glossy brochure from a private engineering college on the Khandwa Road arrives at their door: “AICTE-approved, 100% placement, NBA-accredited, second shift also available.” The fees are Rs.1.2 lakh a year. The family is ready to take an education loan.

Before paying the first instalment, Priya does what most parents do not. She opens the AICTE web portal and types the college name into the approved-institutions list. The name appears, but the “second shift” B.E. Computer Science programme she was sold is nowhere on the record. The intake column shows 60 seats; the brochure promises 120. When she calls the college, the admission officer says, “Madam, approval is being renewed, it will come on the portal next month.” That “next month” is the sentence that has cost thousands of Indian families their savings and their children's degrees.

This is not a rare story. Every year, students discover — sometimes after two years of attendance — that their programme was never approved, that the second shift was unauthorised, or that approval was withdrawn mid-course and nobody told them. The degree that follows is not recognised for government jobs, for higher studies, or for a licence to practise. The Right to Information Act, 2005 gives Priya a simple, cheap weapon to verify the truth before she writes the cheque: one RTI application, Rs.10, and a 30-day statutory reply.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body established under the AICTE Act, 1987 (Act No. 52 of 1987), working under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. It is the apex regulator for technical education in India — engineering, technology, architecture, pharmacy, management, computer applications, hotel management, and applied arts. Because it is created by a central Act and funded by the Government of India, AICTE is a “public authority” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005, and every approval record it holds is accessible to you under Section 2(f) and Section 3 of the Act.

The approval power flows from specific sections of the AICTE Act:

1. Section 10(k) empowers AICTE to grant approval for starting new technical institutions and for introducing new courses or programmes.
2. Section 10(p) empowers AICTE to inspect, or cause to inspect, any technical institution.
3. Section 11(1)-(4) sets out the inspection procedure: the Council may cause an inspection, the institution is entitled to be associated with the process, its views are communicated, and action taken is reported.
4. Section 12 vests approval decisions in the Executive Committee, which issues the Letter of Approval or Letter of Rejection, ratified by the Council.
5. Section 14 makes the Regional Committees the first layer that processes applications and recommends approval.
6. Section 23 gives AICTE the power to make regulations — the most important today being the AICTE (Grant of Approvals for Technical Institutions) Regulations, 2020, notified on 4 February 2020 and amended on 24 February 2021.

The substantive rules live in two documents that work together. The first is the Grant of Approvals Regulations, 2020, the standing legal framework. The second is the Approval Process Handbook (APH), an annual document that sets the year-by-year calendar, eligibility, and forms. The current governing handbook is the Approval Process Handbook 2024-27. AICTE issues three kinds of approval documents in a cycle: the Letter of Intent (LoI) for new institutions, the Letter of Approval (LoA) for new programmes, and the Extension of Approval (EoA) for continuing institutions.

One rule from the Supreme Court sets the hard outer boundary. In Parshavanath Charitable Trust and Others v. AICTE and Others (Civil Appeal No. 9048 of 2012, decided 13 December 2012), a bench of Swatanter Kumar and A.K. Patnaik JJ held that AICTE has no jurisdiction to grant approval for a new course or additional intake beyond 30th April of the year immediately preceding the academic year. The statutory Schedule is mandatory, not directory. The Court modified the last date for admission to 15th August and imposed costs of Rs.50,000 on AICTE for granting approvals despite known deficiencies. For you, the citizen, this means any approval dated after 30th April for the coming academic year is legally suspect — and is exactly the kind of thing an RTI can expose.

Understanding the cycle tells you which record to demand. The process runs roughly like this:

1. Application: An institution applies through the AICTE online portal, routed to the relevant Regional Committee under Section 14.
2. Scrutiny and Expert Visit: AICTE scrutinises land, building, faculty, equipment, and finance. An Expert Visit Committee physically inspects the campus and files a report.
3. Recommendation: The Regional Committee recommends approval, conditional approval, or rejection.
4. Executive Committee decision: Under Section 12, the Executive Committee takes the final call and issues the LoI, LoA, or EoA (or a rejection), which is then ratified by the full Council.
5. Annual renewal: Every continuing institution must apply each year for an Extension of Approval. Without a valid EoA, the institution cannot admit students for that academic year.

From Academic Year 2024-25 onwards, institutions meeting defined quality criteria can receive a 3-year EoA instead of a one-year renewal. The criteria include a NIRF or QS ranking, NBA accreditation of at least 30% of eligible courses, NAAC grade of 3.01 or above, Autonomous status, or 80% admission for five consecutive years. This is good news for strong institutions but creates a new trap for parents: a college may legally hold a 3-year EoA and still have it suspended or withdrawn mid-term for violations. Ask for the current EoA, not the one the college chooses to display.

AICTE also has a graded list of penal actions for norm violations under the Approval Process Handbook: suspension of NRI or supernumerary seats, reduction in approved intake, no-admission in a course, withdrawal of approval for a programme or the whole institution, a fine of five times the total fee collected per student for excess admissions, and ineligibility for AICTE grants. Each of these actions is a recorded document — and every one of them is disclosable under RTI.

Two things have changed the landscape in 2026 that every filer should know.

First, the 3-year Extension of Approval regime (notified through the APH 2024-27) is now fully operational. This means an institution's approval status no longer flips every 12 months. For a strong, accredited college, the EoA is valid for three academic years. For a weak or non-compliant college, however, the annual cycle still applies, and the gap between “approved last year” and “approved this year” is where most students get trapped. Your RTI must therefore ask for the EoA validity period, not just “is it approved.”

Second, the Madras High Court in V.S.B. Engineering College v. Central Information Commission (W.P. No. 38872 of 2015, decided 9 December 2022) settled an important question that affects how you frame your application. The court held that private unaided technical institutions are not themselves “public authorities” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act — you cannot file RTI directly against a private college. But, crucially, the court also held that the approval records of private institutions held by AICTE can still be accessed under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, subject to the Section 11 third-party procedure and the Section 8 exemptions. In plain terms: you do not ask the private college; you ask AICTE, which holds the college's approval file. This is the legally clean route, and the one this guide uses.

This is a Central application. AICTE is a Central public authority under the Ministry of Education, so the Central RTI Rules, 2012 apply and the fee is a flat Rs.10. You file one application to one CPIO.

Step 1 — Identify the public authority and the PIO.

1. Central: The Central Public Information Officer, AICTE Headquarters, Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – 110070. The stable role-based email is [email protected] (also [email protected]). The RTI Cell phone is 011-29581025; the general board is 011-29581000. File online through the Central RTI portal rtionline.gov.in, where AICTE is listed as a Central public authority, or file offline by post or by hand.

Step 2 — Identify the college precisely. Before drafting, collect the college's exact name, the AICTE College Code (a unique numeric identifier on the AICTE portal), the programme name (e.g., B.E. Computer Science), the shift (first or second), and the academic year you are asking about. Without the College Code, the PIO can send a vague reply saying “no such institution.”

Step 3 — Draft your questions. Ask for specific, dated records. Five to six strong questions:

1. Current approval status: “Furnish the current approval status — Letter of Intent, Letter of Approval, or Extension of Approval — for [college name], AICTE College Code [code], for the programme [name], shift [first/second], for Academic Year [year], with a certified copy of the latest approval order and its validity period.”
2. Sanctioned versus admitted intake: “Furnish the sanctioned intake and the admitted intake for the programme [name] at [college name] for each of the last three academic years, year-wise.”
3. Inspection report: “Furnish the latest Expert Visit Committee or inspection report for [college name], with the date of visit, names of committee members, and the findings recorded.”
4. Deficiency and show-cause notices: “Furnish copies of all deficiency notices, show-cause notices, and compliance replies exchanged between AICTE and [college name] in the last three academic years.”
5. Penal or withdrawal action: “Furnish details of any penal action — reduction of intake, no-admission in a course, suspension of seats, withdrawal of approval, or fine — taken, proposed, or pending against [college name] in the last three academic years, with copies of the orders.”
6. Second shift or additional branch: “State whether the second shift / additional branch / additional intake for the programme [name] at [college name] is separately approved by AICTE for Academic Year [year], and furnish a copy of the approval order if any.”

Step 4 — Use the right form and fee. Use the standard RTI application format under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. The application fee is Rs.10, payable by Indian Postal Order, court-fee stamp, or cash against receipt for an offline filing, or by debit/credit card or UPI on the rtionline.gov.in portal for an online filing. BPL applicants are exempt from the fee on producing a BPL certificate. Photocopy charges, if your request is large, are Rs.2 per page; the first hour of inspection is free, and Rs.5 per subsequent hour thereafter. See RTI for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know Before Filing Your for the step-by-step online filing process and RTI Fees by State and Online Portal Directory (2026) for the fee and payment-mode details.

Step 5 — Submit and keep proof. File by hand at the CPIO's office and take a stamped receiving copy, or send by registered post and keep the acknowledgement, or file online and save the registration number. The application should be ordinarily within 500 words, but it cannot be rejected solely for exceeding that limit.

Step 6 — Wait 30 days. The CPIO must reply within 30 days of receiving your application (48 hours if the matter concerns life or liberty, which approval-status queries normally do not). If no reply arrives, or the reply is unsatisfactory, you climb the escalation ladder below.

You can draft your questions in minutes using the AI RTI Draft App at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html, and check whether a PIO reply is legally adequate with the PIO Reply Checker at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/pio-reply-checker-app.html.

RTI is powerful because it has a built-in ladder. If the CPIO ignores you or gives a vague reply, you do not stop there.

1. First appeal: If no reply comes within 30 days, or you are unhappy with the reply, file a First Appeal under Section 19(1) with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) at AICTE. Do this within 30 days of the expiry of the reply deadline. The FAA must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45.
2. Second appeal: If the FAA also fails you, file a Second Appeal under Section 19(3) with the Central Information Commission. There is no fee for a second appeal to the Central Information Commission. Use the First Appeal App at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/first-appeal-app.html to draft it, and the Timeline Calculator at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/timeline-calculator-app.html to confirm your deadlines.
3. Complaint under Section 18: You can also file a direct complaint to the Central Information Commission if the CPIO never replied at all or refused to accept your application.

For AICTE approval queries, the most common outcome is that the CPIO replies with the current EoA letter but withholds the inspection report or deficiency notices, citing Section 8(1)(d) (fiduciary relationship) or Section 11 (third-party). Both can be challenged in the first appeal: the V.S.B. Engineering College ruling confirms that approval records of private institutions held by AICTE are accessible under Section 2(f) subject to Section 11 procedure, and an inspection report is a record of a statutory function, not a trade secret.

1. Indian Postal Order or proof of online payment of Rs.10 (or BPL certificate if seeking fee waiver).
2. A copy of the college brochure or advertisement you want verified (helps the PIO locate the exact programme).
3. The AICTE College Code written on the application (found on the AICTE portal).
4. Your identity proof — aadhaar or voter ID is sufficient; not mandatory but speeds processing.
5. A self-addressed stamped envelope for offline filings, so the reply reaches you without further cost.

1. Asking the private college directly. Private unaided institutions are not public authorities under Section 2(h) — the V.S.B. Engineering College ruling, 2022. File at AICTE, which holds the approval file, not at the college.
2. Not citing the AICTE College Code. Without it, the PIO can send a “no such institution” reply. The College Code is the single most useful identifier.
3. Asking for “approval status” without the academic year. Approval is annual. Always specify the academic year and ask for the validity period of the EoA.
4. Skipping the second-shift question. Many unapproved programmes hide in a “second shift” or “additional branch.” Ask separately whether the shift or branch is separately approved.
5. Confusing AICTE approval with UGC recognition or university affiliation. AICTE approves the technical programme; the affiliating university grants affiliation; UGC recognises the university. These are three different documents. See UGC recognition status of a college or university — RTI to UGC and Check college affiliation — RTI to the university Registrar for the other two layers.
6. Forgetting the 30th April rule. Any approval dated after 30th April for the coming academic year is suspect under the Parshavanath Trust Supreme Court order. Ask for the date of the approval order.
7. Filing only online and not saving the registration number. Without the registration number you cannot track or appeal. Save it the moment you file.

To
The Central Public Information Officer,
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE),
Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj,
New Delhi - 110070

Subject: Application under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 -
         AICTE approval status of a technical institution

Sir/Madam,

I, [your full name], citizen of India, hereby request the
following information under Section 6(1) of the Right to
Information Act, 2005, relating to the technical institution
named below:

  Institution name : [full name as on AICTE portal]
  AICTE College Code : [numeric code]
  Programme : [e.g., B.E. Computer Science]
  Shift : [first / second]
  Academic Year : [e.g., 2026-27]

1. Furnish the current approval status - Letter of Intent,
   Letter of Approval, or Extension of Approval - for the
   above institution and programme for the stated academic
   year, with a certified copy of the latest approval order
   and its validity period.

2. Furnish the sanctioned intake and the admitted intake for
   the above programme for each of the last three academic
   years, year-wise.

3. Furnish a certified copy of the latest Expert Visit
   Committee or inspection report, with the date of visit.

4. Furnish copies of all deficiency notices, show-cause
   notices, and compliance replies exchanged between AICTE
   and the institution in the last three academic years.

5. Furnish details of any penal action - reduction of intake,
   no-admission, suspension of seats, withdrawal of approval,
   or fine - taken, proposed, or pending against the
   institution in the last three academic years, with copies
   of the orders.

6. State whether the second shift / additional branch for
   the above programme is separately approved for the stated
   academic year, and furnish a copy of the approval order
   if any.

I state that the information sought is of larger public
interest and relates to the protection of students. If the
information is held by a third party, I request that the
procedure under Section 11 of the RTI Act be followed and
a decision communicated to me within the statutory period.

The application fee of Rs.10 is paid [by Indian Postal Order
No. ____ / through rtionline.gov.in payment ref. ____].

I may be informed if any further fee is payable for
photocopying, as required under the RTI Rules, 2012.

If the information is not held by your office, I request that
the application be transferred under Section 6(3) to the
public authority that holds it, within five days.

Date: [date]                                  [your signature]
Place: [city]                                 [your name and address]
                                              [mobile / email]

No. The Madras High Court in V.S.B. Engineering College v. Central Information Commission (2022) held that private unaided technical institutions are not “public authorities” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. You file the RTI against AICTE, which holds the college's approval records. Those records are accessible under Section 2(f) of the Act, subject to the Section 11 third-party procedure and Section 8 exemptions.

AICTE is a Central public authority, so the Central RTI Rules, 2012 apply. The application fee is Rs.10, payable by Indian Postal Order, court-fee stamp, or cash against receipt for offline filing, or by card or UPI on rtionline.gov.in for online filing. BPL applicants are exempt on producing a BPL certificate. Photocopies are charged at Rs.2 per page; the first hour of file inspection is free, and Rs.5 per subsequent hour.

The CPIO must reply within 30 days of receiving the application under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If the application is transferred to another public authority under Section 6(3), that authority has 30 days from the date of transfer. If the matter concerns the life or liberty of a person, the reply must come within 48 hours — though approval-status queries do not normally fall in that category.

This is the most common refusal. The CPIO may cite Section 8(1)(d) (fiduciary relationship) or Section 11 (third-party). File a First Appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days, arguing that an inspection report is the record of a statutory function under Section 10(p) and Section 11 of the AICTE Act, not a trade secret, and that the V.S.B. Engineering College ruling permits access to approval records of private institutions held by AICTE.

No. Approval is annual. A Letter of Approval from three years ago does not prove current approval. The only document that proves current approval is the Extension of Approval (EoA) for the current academic year, along with its validity period. From AY 2024-25, qualifying institutions may hold a 3-year EoA, so always ask for the validity period, not just the existence of an EoA.

The Supreme Court in Parshavanath Charitable Trust v. AICTE (2012) held that AICTE has no jurisdiction to grant approval for a new course or additional intake beyond 30th April of the year immediately preceding the academic year. Any approval order dated after 30th April for the coming academic year is legally suspect. Always ask for the date of the approval order.

Yes. Ask specifically whether the second shift or additional intake is separately approved. AICTE's penal actions under the Approval Process Handbook include a fine of five times the total fee collected per student for excess admissions, and reduction or withdrawal of approval. These are recorded documents and are disclosable under RTI.

No. The RTI Act is designed for citizens to use directly. Draft your questions using the AI RTI Draft App at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html, and if the reply is inadequate, use the First Appeal App at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/first-appeal-app.html. The sample letter above is a working template you can fill in and send.

AICTE approves the technical programme (engineering, pharmacy, management, and so on). The affiliating university grants affiliation to the college for awarding the degree. UGC recognises the university itself. All three are separate legal statuses, held by separate authorities. A college can be AICTE-approved but not affiliated, or affiliated but not AICTE-approved. For a complete check, file separate RTIs: this guide for AICTE, UGC recognition status of a college or university — RTI to UGC for UGC, and Check college affiliation — RTI to the university Registrar for affiliation.

File the RTI in this guide to get the official record first. In parallel, file a complaint on the AICTE Centralized Support System (CSS) portal at css.aicte-india.org, or through CPGRAMS. The AICTE Grievance Redressal Cell handles complaints at [email protected]. The RTI record is your evidence; the complaint is your enforcement.

1. AICTE Act, 1987 (Act No. 52 of 1987) — official AICTE portal: [aicte-india.org](https://www.aicte-india.org/)
2. AICTE (Grant of Approvals for Technical Institutions) Regulations, 2020 (notified 4 Feb 2020, amended 24 Feb 2021), made under Section 23 of the Act: [indiankanoon.org/doc/46893247/](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/46893247/)
3. AICTE Approval Process Handbook 2024-25 / 2024-27: [aicte-india.org/bureaus/approval/approal-process-2024-25](https://www.aicte-india.org/bureaus/approval/approal-process-2024-25)
4. RTI Rules, 2012 for AICTE (fee Rs.10, Rs.2 per page, first hour inspection free, Rs.5 per subsequent hour): [aicte-india.org — RTIRules_2012_Aicte.pdf](https://www.aicte-india.org/sites/default/files//RTI/RTIRules_2012_Aicte.pdf)
5. Parshavanath Charitable Trust and Others v. AICTE and Others, Civil Appeal No. 9048 of 2012, decided 13 December 2012 (Swatanter Kumar and A.K. Patnaik JJ) — no approval beyond 30th April, costs of Rs.50,000: [indiankanoon.org/doc/16952865/](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/16952865/)
6. AICTE v. Surinder Kumar Dhawan and Others, (2009) 11 SCC 726, decided 18 February 2009 — judicial review confined to legality, not policy: [indiankanoon.org/doc/1906677/](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1906677/)
7. V.S.B. Engineering College v. Central Information Commission, Madras High Court, W.P. No. 38872 of 2015, decided 9 December 2022 — private institutions not public authorities, but approval records held by AICTE accessible under Section 2(f): [indiankanoon.org/doc/155465615/](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/155465615/)
8. AICTE Grievance Redressal and Centralized Support System: [aicte-india.org/bureaus/grievance-redressal](https://www.aicte-india.org/bureaus/grievance-redressal) and [aicte-india.org/centralized-support-system](https://www.aicte-india.org/centralized-support-system)
9. Central RTI online portal (AICTE listed as Central public authority): [rtionline.gov.in](https://rtionline.gov.in)

1. RTI for UGC recognition status
2. RTI for college affiliation
3. RTI for college admission rejection
4. How to file RTI online in India
5. RTI fee and mode of payment
6. College closure, transfer and refund
7. RTI for scholarship status

Last reviewed: 4 July 2026.