The High Court of Kerala clarified in a judgment, in Harisankar S. v State of Kerala & Others [2025:KER:43507], that state universities cannot insist on Equivalence Certificate from National Institutions, National Universities such as Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), and other institutions recognized by the University Gants Commission (UGC).
The court says that the IGNOU, which offers regular courses, is a university of national importance established by the Central Government to offer open studies through correspondence for the first time in the university system. The IGNOU is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the courses it offers are approved by the UGC.
The state universities cannot demand Equivalence Certificate in respect of the degrees obtained from the National Institutions such as National Institutions, such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Science (IIS), National Institutes of Technology (NIT), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) etc, duly recognized by the UGC, the High Court says categorically.
Reference
- Harisankar S. v State of Kerala & Others [2025: KER:43507]
