JNU, HCU among top central varsities, IIT-M 1st in tech inst

April 4, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 4: JNU and Hyderabad university,which have been at the centre of massive rows recently, top the list of central varsities while IIT-Madras and IIM-Bangalore lead among technological and management institutions, according to the first ever domestic ranking released today by Government.

In the technological institutions category, IIT Mumbai is placed second, followed by IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur. Manipal College of Pharmacy is ahead of others in the category of Pharmacy education.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) covering 3,500 different institutes in four different categories was released by HRD minister Smriti Irani.

In the universities category, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (which is a deemed University) is rated as the top-ranked institute followed by Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai.

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, which has been at the centre of a major row over a controversial event and the arrest of its student union President Kanhaiya Kumar, is ahead of all other central universities while Central University of Hyderabad, which has been rocked by protests after the suicide of Rohith Vemula, is placed fourth.

Significantly, perception among students, alumni, parents, employees and public was one of the key parameters on which these institutes were ranked by a committee of experts. Teaching and learning resources, graduation outcomes, research etc being other factors.

Among the management institutes, IIM Bangalore leads the pack followed by IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Kolkata and IIM Lucknow.

Later speaking to reporters, Irani said the effort is to make this ranking system an annual affair and more categories will be added so that students can know about an institute before taking admission.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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