(Per : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE AKIL KURESHI) The petitioner is an educational institution. It has challenged order dated 6.8.2009 passed by the Fee Regulatory Committee namely Justice R.J. Shah (retired) Committee, fixing the fee structure for the academic year 2008-2009 at Rs. 23,000/- per student per year for its B.Ed. Course. The petitioner has also prayed for permission to charge fees for the year 2009-2010 at the rate of Rs.30,000/- per students.
It is not in dispute that previously the same Committee had permitted the petitioner to collect fees at the rate of Rs. 25,000/- for the academic year 2008-2009. However, upon remand and fresh consideration, same was further reduced to Rs. 23,000/- by the impugned order.
In group of petitions being Special Civil Application No. 5655/2009 decided on 9.4.2010, one of the issues was question of reduction of fee on fresh consideration. The Bench found that educational institutions having questioned the previous fee fixation and at whose instance the fee fixation was reconsidered by the Fee Regulatory Committee, in the fresh round of consideration, fees with lower than what was previously fixed could not have been prescribed. On this ground, it was declared that in cases where Justice R.J. Shah Committee has fixed the fee for a particular academic year which is less than th fee which was previously fixed by A.U. Patel Committee for the same year, it is the later i.e. the fee fixed by A.U.Patel Committee with shall prevail .
In the present case, except for the difference that both times fee was fixed by the same Committee, i.e. Justice R.J.Shah (retired) Committee, there is no other change between the two situations.
Under the circumstances, impugned order dated 6.8.2009 to the extent it prescribes fees for the students at the rate of Rs. 23,000/- per annum for the academic year 2008-2009 stands modified. The petitioner shall be authorised to charge fees at the rate of Rs. 25,000/- for the said academic year.
With respect to academic year 2009-2010, the Fee Regulatory Committee shall examine the request of the petitioner for permitting to collect fees at the rate of Rs. 30,000/- per annum from the students if the petitioner approaches the committee within a period of four weeks from today. If the petitioner undertakes to implement the Sixth Pay Commission for its teaching and non-teaching staff and file such an undertaking before the Committee, same shall also be taken into account while considering the request of fee revision.
With these directions the petition is disposed of.
(S.J.
Mukhopadhaya,C.J.) (Akil Kureshi,J.) (raghu) Top