Pune: The Maharashtra Education Society’s (MES) Mukunddas Lohia College of Engineering has come under regulatory scrutiny after the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) issued notices following allegations of unauthorised relocation, non-compliance with approval conditions and irregularities in documents submitted to authorities.
Yuva Sena State Joint Secretary Kalpesh Yadav, who raised the issue at a press conference on Monday, alleged that the engineering college was shifted to the premises of Abasaheb Garware College on Karve Road without obtaining prior approvals from AICTE, SPPU and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University (DBATU). He demanded immediate action to protect students and parents from possible academic and financial losses.
An AICTE document dated July 7, 2026, submitted as part of the evidence, records that a complaint against MES Mukunddas Lohia College of Engineering was placed before the AICTE Standing Complaint Scrutiny Committee. According to the proofs presented by Yadav, the committee sought the institution’s reply and supporting documents before further consideration.
Initially proposed separate building
Yadav also alleged that the engineering college was initially proposed in a separate newly constructed building, but the institution later decided to shift it to the Garware College premises.
Yadav said, “After we pursued the matter, the institution’s governing body realised its mistake and decided to shift the engineering college overnight to the educational complex on Karve Road.”
He further alleged that permissions were not obtained before the relocation and were applied for only after objections were raised. He also alleged discrepancies and large-scale alterations in information submitted to AICTE and SPPU.
'Students and parents should take note'
He said, “Since the required compliances have not been completed, the permission for the college could be cancelled at any time. Students and parents should take note of this and remain cautious.”
The AICTE Approval Process Handbook 2024-27, presented by Yadav, provides for penal action against institutions violating approval norms. Its provisions cover non-submission or submission of incomplete, false or incorrect information, non-fulfilment of essential requirements and failure to meet prescribed location and built-up-area requirements. The handbook also states that institutions functioning from an unapproved location or failing to meet prescribed built-up requirements can face penal action.
The handbook further provides for action against unapproved technical programmes/courses, including withdrawal or suspension of approval and other penal measures.
MES’s own governing-body resolution dated March 7, 2026, shows that it had earmarked existing buildings and a proposed building for AICTE-approved engineering programmes, including 1,084.134 sq m exclusively for Mukunddas Lohia College of Engineering.
Yadav has also alleged unauthorised construction at the Garware campus and claimed that environmental, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) permissions were not obtained. The documents submitted in support include a PMC Part Occupancy Certificate dated August 7, 2026, covering specified floors and classrooms of Building No. 27, making the construction-related allegations a matter requiring verification.
Yadav said a complaint has also been submitted seeking registration of a case under Section 173(1) against the educational institution and officials allegedly responsible for lapses. The allegations are currently subject to examination by the concerned authorities.
Meanwhile, The Free Press Journal contacted the college seeking its response, but did not receive one.
