MAHAJANA EDUCATION SOCIETY(REGD) Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No.1 is an Education Society running SBRR Mahajana First Grade College at Mysuru. The petitioner-Society is aggrieved by the impugned orders dated 17.01.2017 and 21.02.2017 (Annexures 'A' and 'A1') passed by respondents No.3 and 4 respectively calling upon the petitioner-Society to pay Rs.25,00,000/- as penalty along with an undertaking within a period of 15 days from the date of issuance of the notice.

(2.) The background in which the said orders have been issued is that complaints were received by the Vice Chancellor of the University stating that the petitioner-Society which is running the Institution has collected exorbitant fees from outstation students, contrary to the admissible fees and has siphoned off major portion of the grant given to the Institution by the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka. As per the memorandum of understanding dated 05.04.2007, the Department of Tourism granted a sum of Rs.4 crores for starting a Five year Integrated course called Master of Tourism Administration with the structure and syllabus of the five year MTA course suggested by the Department of Tourism through the Governing Council constituted vide Government Order dated 18.09.2006 with the conditions imposed in the Government Order dated 08.03.2007. Notice was issued by the syndicate of the respondent-University calling upon the petitioner-Society to answer the allegations made in the notice. It is submitted that the petitioner-Society placed its reply to the notice and participated in the enquiry conducted by a Committee constituted by the syndicate. An enquiry report dated 19.12.2016 was placed before the syndicate. After discussing the enquiry report, the syndicate found that the allegations regarding collection of exorbitant fee was substantiated by the documents submitted by the petitioner-Society. The syndicate noticed the submission of the petitioner- Society that one Dr.K.S.Nagapathy, retired Professor of Commerce along with his son who were inimically disposed towards the petitioner-Society had indulged in financial irregularities and siphoned off a sum of Rs.3.32 crores from out of the grant made by the Department of Tourism. In that regard, the petitioner-Society had initiated both civil and criminal proceedings against the perpertrators of the said act. The syndicate, having noticed the findings of the Committee proceeded to issue the impugned order dated 17.01.2017 confirming the enquiry report calling upon the petitioner-Society to pay a sum of Rs.25 lakhs as penalty and give an undertaking within a period of 15 days that in future the petitioner-Society shall not indulge in such activities.

(3.) Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that following the said order, one more order dated 21.02.2017 was also issued reiterating the same terms as was found in the earlier order dated 17.01.2017.