JUDGMENT : N. NAGARESH, J. 1. Petitioners 1 to 5, who are undergoing Part time Diploma Course in Mechanical Engineering in various Government Polytechnic Colleges under the 1st respondent-State of Kerala, seek to quash Ext.P12 and to command the respondents to permit the petitioners to undergo their Part time Diploma Course in accordance with the conditions in Ext.P1 Prospectus and Ext.P4 Curriculum of 2015 Scheme and to direct the respondents to award the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering accordingly. 2. Petitioners 1 and 5 are working as Senior Instructors and the 4th petitioner is working as Workshop Attender in the Government ITI, Kalamassery. The 2nd and 3rd petitioners are working as Tradesmen in the Government Polytechnic College, Kothamangalam and Government Polytechnic College, Purappuzha respectively. For Career Advancement, the petitioners decided to pursue a Part time Diploma Course in Mechanical Engineering in the 4th respondent-State Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research at Kalamassery. 3. Clause 2 of Ext.P1 Prospectus issued by the Directorate of Technical Education provided that the program of Part time Diploma Courses shall be of six semesters, for a total period of three years. The petitioners, after obtaining NOC from their reporting officers, enrolled for the course Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. The petitioners are undergoing the program under the revised 2015 curriculum. The subjects Industrial Management and Safety, Industrial Training/Industrial Visit/Collaborative work and Project and Seminar were to be completed in the 5th semester itself. The petitioners appeared in the examinations for semesters 1 to 4 in accordance with the 2015 Scheme. 4. The 3rd respondent made a revision in the curriculum in the year 2021, for various Diploma Courses. The 1st respondent approved the curriculum and made it applicable for students admitted from the academic year 2021-22 under the revised curriculum. As per this, students in the Part time Course were to be awarded a Diploma with the First Class with Distinction, only if they acquire the requisite credits within seven consecutive semesters. 5. As a bolt from the blue, the 1st respondent issued Ext.P12 Government Order whereby the course curriculum and duration in respect of the students admitted to Part time Diploma Course 2019-20, were also changed and extended to a period of seven semesters. The AICTE APH 2019-20 Regulations stipulated that the Part time Diploma Courses shall be at least one or two semesters more than the regular course. The AICTE APH 2019-20 Regulations stipulated that the Part time Diploma Courses shall be at least one or two semesters more than the regular course. It is to adhere to the said stipulation that the 4th respondent recommended to revise the 2015 curriculum retrospectively with effect from 2019 and name it as PT Revision 2019. 6. The petitioners argued that a Prospectus is binding on the candidates as well as the State. Ext.P1 Prospectus and Ext.P4 Curriculum clearly state that the Diploma program from the Academic Year commencing from 2019 shall be for a period of three years spread over six semesters. The respondents are bound to abide by Ext.P1 Prospectus and confine the course duration to 3 years/6 semesters. The action of the respondents in retrospectively altering the declarations in the Prospectus amounts to infringement of the legitimate expectations of the petitioners that the Course shall be completed in six semesters. 7. The petitioners submitted that the extension of duration of the course invites serious civil consequences for the petitioners in so far as they have been granted NOC by their employers only for a Three Year Course. The petitioners have underwent the Course for career advancement. Delay in completion of the Course and award of the Diploma, will affect their chances for promotion and consequently their pay and allowances. Therefore, the respondents are compellable to permit the petitioners to undergo their Part time Diploma Course as per Ext.P1 Prospectus and Ext.P4 Curriculum of 2015 Scheme and to award Diploma to the petitioners after successful completion of six Semesters. 8. The 2nd respondent-Director of Technical Education contested the writ petition filing a statement wherein it is stated that the Part time Diploma program is to be continued as per AICTE regulations which stipulates that the duration of the programme shall be 7 to 8 semesters. If the Part time Diploma is continued as 6 semesters, it shall no longer be an approved Diploma programme and shall affect the future prospects of over 500 students admitted at 6 polytechnics including Government Polytechnic College, Kothamangalam. As per AICTE Approval Process Hand Book 2019-20, a Faculty/Employee working on Full time basis in an Institution/Organisation and pursuing/pursued any Full time Course for the same duration as that of Regular Shift shall be considered as invalid for the purpose of employment/higher studies. As per AICTE Approval Process Hand Book 2019-20, a Faculty/Employee working on Full time basis in an Institution/Organisation and pursuing/pursued any Full time Course for the same duration as that of Regular Shift shall be considered as invalid for the purpose of employment/higher studies. The Faculty/Employee shall pursue a Course as Part time for longer duration, in the same City. Therefore, the Part time Diploma syllabus was restructured to 7 Semesters for the benefit of the students who are undergoing Part time Diploma for enabling them to obtain a valid AICTE approved Diploma Certificate as per AICTE Approval Process Hand Book 2019-20. 9. After the G.O. for the Part time Course was issued, it was noticed that the draft copy of Prospectus sent for approval, was that of 2018-19. During 2018-19, as per Extension of Approval issued to Polytechnics by AICTE, the Part time program was First shift Part time. The draft copy of the Prospectus refers to the Part time Program as First shift Part time. Therefore, the First shift part time Prospectus was rectified as per the existing provisions in Prospectus in the clauses. Ext.P1 Prospectus made it clear that the Prospectus is subject to modification/addition/deletion as may be deemed necessary by the Government. Among the 10 statements that were to be corrected, the 5th and 7th refers to the corrected duration of the PT Diploma programme. The rectified Prospectus was uploaded in the official Admission website for Polytechnic admission as per C2/15872/2019 dated 5.7.2019 of DTE Kerala. As per Clause 6.1 of Prospectus, the Prospectus and application form will be available for free download from the website. The petitioners would thus have downloaded the modified Prospectus from the official admission website. The duration of the course was stipulated in the Prospectus, before admission and not at the fag end of the course as contended by the petitioners. The notification for the Part time Diploma admission included referring to the rectified Prospectus uploaded in the official website for Polytechnic admission. The duration of the Part time Diploma program is as stipulated by the approving body, AICTE and cannot be decided arbitrarily. The State Board of Technical Education is bound to obey the AICTE regulations for the award of Diploma. The duration of the Part time Diploma program is as stipulated by the approving body, AICTE and cannot be decided arbitrarily. The State Board of Technical Education is bound to obey the AICTE regulations for the award of Diploma. The duration of the Part time Diploma has to be 7 or 8 semesters, as per AICTE regulations 2019-20 and this was set down in the Prospectus uploaded in the admission website. Therefore, the allegation that the duration was not informed earlier is not correct. 10. The respondents submitted that it is unfortunate that the petitioners did not go through the Prospectus uploaded in the Admission portal. This action resulted in their wrongful expectation of the duration of the Course. The stipulation that Part time Courses shall be spread over 7 semesters is enforced from 2019 onwards, as per AICTE regulations. It is also applicable to students admitted in 2020-21 academic year and not from 2021-22, as mistakenly portrayed by the petitioners. Ext.P11 is the Rules and Regulations of Revision 2021, which is applicable only to students admitted from 2021 onwards, contended the respondents. 11. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Senior Government Pleader representing the respondents. 12. The petitioners enrolled for the Course of Diploma in Mechanical Engineering in the academic year commencing from 2019. The Program was under the revised 2015 Curriculum. Ext.P1 Prospectus issued by the Directorate of Technical Education stipulated that the Program of Diploma Course shall be of six Semesters and for a total period of three years. But, the rectified Prospectus was uploaded in the official admission website. 13. The contentions of the petitioners that the revision goes against Ext.P1 Prospectus which is binding on the petitioners as well as respondents equally. The petitioners have joined the Course obtaining NOC from their employers and extension of duration of the Course would affect their students and their promotional prospects in career, which will have adverse civil consequences too. 14. While considering the grievances of the petitioners, it is necessary to examine the contextual background which necessitated revision. The AICTE APH 2019-20 Regulations stipulated that the Part time Diploma Courses shall be at least one or two Semesters more than the Regular Course. It is to adhere to the AICTE stipulations that the 2015 Curriculum was revised with effect from the academic year commencing from 2019. The AICTE APH 2019-20 Regulations stipulated that the Part time Diploma Courses shall be at least one or two Semesters more than the Regular Course. It is to adhere to the AICTE stipulations that the 2015 Curriculum was revised with effect from the academic year commencing from 2019. It may be true that the petitioners joined the Course relying on Ext.P1 Prospectus, whereunder the duration of the Course was six Semesters. But, the respondents state that necessary changes were effected in the official website which the petitioners omitted to note. The question is whether the respondents are compellable to abide by Ext.P1 Prospectus, as far as the petitioners are concerned. 15. The fact is that if the 2019 Program is continued as six Semesters, it will no longer be an approved Diploma program, having the seal of approval of the NICTE, as it would violate AICTE Approval Process Handbook 2019-20. If the Program is forced to terminate after six Semesters, it will affect the future employment prospects of over 500 students admitted in six Polytechnics including Government Polytechnic College, Kothamangalam. Moreover, changes were made to Ext.P1 Prospectus and were uploaded in the official admission portal. Furthermore, it has been clearly stated in Clause 1 of the Prospectus that the Prospectus is subject to modifications. 16. The grievance of the petitioners will have to be weighed in comparison to the 500 students undergoing the Part time Diploma Course. Non-adherance to the AICTE norms will render the Diplomas obtained by them unfit for employment purpose. Whether interference in the matter is warranted in such circumstances, is the issue. 17. The jurisdiction of High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution is couched in wide terms and exercise thereof is not subject to any restriction except restrictions expressly provided in the Article. But, the exercise of jurisdiction is discretionary. It is not exercised merely because it is lawful to do so. If the exercise of jurisdiction would result in larger injustice to more numbers of citizens, who are not before the Court, this Court would be justified in declining its jurisdiction. 18. But, the exercise of jurisdiction is discretionary. It is not exercised merely because it is lawful to do so. If the exercise of jurisdiction would result in larger injustice to more numbers of citizens, who are not before the Court, this Court would be justified in declining its jurisdiction. 18. in this case, if the respondents are directed to stick to Ext.P1 Prospectus in the matter of duration of the Part time Diploma Course, the Diploma that will be awarded to 500 students would be of no value and those students will be disabled in further prosecution of their studies and in obtaining employment on the basis of a Diploma not recognised by the AICTE. 19. In the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court does not deem it fit to exercise the discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, in favour of the petitioners. The writ petition is therefore dismissed.