Education/Educational Institutions:
Andhra Pradesh Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (for Professional Courses offered in Private Un-Aided Professional Institutions) Rules, 2006: r. 4 – Fixation/enhancement of tuition fee payable by MBBS students – On facts, on basis of the report of the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee-AFRC, the State Government issued G.O. dated 18.06.2011 fixing and enhancing the fee for the academic years 2011-12 to 2013-14 – However, for the subsequent years, 2017 to 2020, without waiting for the report from the AFRC and on the representations made by the private medical colleges, the State Government issued G.O. dated 06.09.2017 and enhanced the tuition fee payable by the MBBS students, at an exorbitant rate of Rs. 24 lakhs per annum, almost seven times the tuition fee notified for the previous block period – In writ petitions, the said G.O. dated 06.09.2017 set aside by the High Court, and issuance of direction that the enhanced fee paid to be refunded to the students – On appeal, held: Fixation could have been only on the recommendations/report by the AFRC by virtue of r. 4 of the Rules – Thus, the G.O. enhancing the tuition fee was wholly impermissible, arbitrary and only with a view to favour and/or oblige the private medical colleges – State could not have issued the G.O. enhancing the tuition fee for private medical colleges dehors the recommendations of the AFRC – Thus, the High Court has rightly quashed and set aside G.O. dated 06.09.2017 – Furthermore, to enhance the fee to Rs. 24 lakhs per annum i.e., seven times more than the fee fixed earlier was not justifiable at all – Education is not the business to earn profit – Tuition fee shall always be affordable – Determination of fee/review of fee shall be within the parameters of the fixation rules and shall have direct nexus on the factors mentioned in r. 4 – Thus, the High Court did not commit any error in directing the refund of the balance amount after adjusting the fee paid pursuant to the earlier determination as per G.O. dated 18.06.2011.
P.A. Inamdar and Ors. Vs. Stateof Maharashtra and Ors. (2005) 6 SCC 537 : [2005] 2 Suppl. SCR 603 – followed.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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