Background: why this RTI was filed
A private university established by a state Act is a real university. What that status does not settle is where it may teach, and through whom. Those questions are governed separately, by the UGC regulations and by the Supreme Court's judgment in Prof. Yashpal vs. State of Chhattisgarh, and they are the questions that matter when a certificate arrives from a centre hundreds of kilometres from the campus named on it.
This RTI asked the UGC directly about Arni University's establishment, its degree-awarding powers, and whether any off-campus or study centre had been approved. The reply, running to two pages, answers in the Commission's standard form — and the operative sentence is short.
| Document | Reply under the Right to Information Act, 2005 |
| Reference | No.F. 1-310/2024 (RIA)(CPP-I/PU) |
| Dated | June 2024 |
| Authority | University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002 |
| Issued by | (R.I.S. Bhardwaj), Under Secretary & CPIO |
| Application | RTI letter dated 23.04.2024, received in the UGC office on 29.04.2024 |
| Institution | Arni University, Kathgarh, Tehsil Indora, Distt. Kangra-176401, Himachal Pradesh |
What the document says
The UGC confirms the establishment: Arni University, Kathgarh, Tehsil Indora, Distt. Kangra-176401, Himachal Pradesh, established or notified on 03.11.2009 by an Act of the Himachal Pradesh State Legislature as a private university.
It then sets out the limits. The university is empowered to award degrees through its main campus in regular mode, with the approval of statutory bodies and councils wherever required, and only such degrees as are specified by the UGC under the Specification of Degrees 2014 notification and its amendments.
On centres, the reply is unambiguous. The university is not authorised to open a study centre or off-campus centre beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the state, following Prof. Yashpal vs. State of Chhattisgarh. It cannot open centres even within the state without UGC approval under the UGC (Establishment of and Maintenance of Standards in Private Universities) Regulations, 2003. And the UGC has not granted any approval to the University to open an off campus or study centre.
Franchising is dealt with separately and equally plainly: the university cannot offer its programmes through a franchising arrangement with private coaching institutions, even for conducting courses through distance mode.
Key findings
No UGC approval for any off-campus or study centre
The reply states in terms that the UGC has not granted any approval to the University to open an off campus or study centre.
Degrees only from the main campus, in regular mode
The UGC describes the university's degree-awarding power as exercisable through its main campus in regular mode, with the approval of statutory bodies and councils where required.
Franchising with coaching institutions is excluded
The University cannot offer its programmes through a franchising arrangement with private coaching institutions, even for conducting courses through distance mode.
Verification rests with the university
Degrees, diplomas and certificates are verified or validated by the issuing authority only, because the records of students admitted and passed are held by that institution.
The UGC does not establish private universities
Private universities are established by State Governments. In Himachal Pradesh the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission regulates them.
Parts of the request were transferred elsewhere
Question 3 was transferred to the NAD Section and question 5 to the CPP-II Section; distance-education queries were directed to the Distance Education Bureau.
“The UGC has not granted any approval to the University to open off campus/study centre.”
— UGC, No.F. 1-310/2024 (RIA)(CPP-I/PU), June 2024
What employers and students should know
A certificate bearing Arni University's name is not, by that fact alone, a certificate from an approved location. The UGC's answer draws the distinction between the university's legal existence and the places where it may lawfully teach.
The same reply tells you where to take a verification request. Degrees, diplomas and certificates are verified by the issuing authority only, because that institution holds the records of who was admitted and who passed. A letter to the university's registrar, quoting the enrolment number, is the check that settles it — not a centre's own confirmation.
- Ask which campus or centre the programme was actually taught at, and get it in writing.
- Write to the university's registrar quoting the enrolment number, and ask whether the student appears in its records.
- If a coaching institution or franchise is involved, note that the UGC's reply excludes franchising arrangements for this university.
- For anything concerning distance education, approach the Distance Education Bureau of the UGC directly, as the reply directs.
- Keep the original reply reference — No.F. 1-310/2024 (RIA)(CPP-I/PU) — with any file you build.
What this record shows:
- The UGC states Arni University was established/notified on 03.11.2009 by an Act of the Himachal Pradesh State Legislature as a private university.
- The UGC states it has granted the university no approval to open an off campus or study centre.
- The UGC states the university cannot offer programmes through franchising arrangements with private coaching institutions.
- The UGC states degree verification is the responsibility of the issuing university.
What it does not show:
- It does not state that any particular centre exists, or name any centre.
- It does not state that any particular degree or certificate is genuine or forged.
- It does not record any finding, penalty or action against the university.
- It does not cover distance education, which the reply refers to the Distance Education Bureau.
Every statement on this page is drawn from the official document described above. Readers should rely on the original document and the issuing authority for any decision.