TEJASWINI PATIL Vs. BANGALORE UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) whether the evil of collection of heavy capitation fee for giving admission to the private medical colleges in the state by them, is really abolished as intended by the Karnataka educational institutions (prohibition of capitation fee) Act, 1984, ('the act' for short), or the evil is aggravated on account of the manner in which the act is implemented by the state government, in that, while the collection of heavy capitation fee continues unabated as alleged, heavy burden by way of tuition fee is added by an order of the state government issued under Section 5 of the act? Is the main question of great public importance, which arises for our consideration in these two writ petitions presented by the petitioners who complain that they were denied admission to the private medical colleges concerned, though they had secured higher percentage of marks in the qualifying examination, whereas large number of students who had secured lesser marks than them, have been admitted into the respondent-medical colleges.

(2.) the gist of the pleadings in writ petition No. 16601 of 1990, is as follows: (i) the petitioner is a citizen of India. She passed the II year pre-university examination held by the pre-university board of this state in the month of march/april, 1990. Her optional subjects in the pre-university course were physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology, which constitute the basis for selection for admission to the medical colleges in the state. She applied to the two private medical colleges, namely, Dr. Ambedkar medical college, Bangalore and kempegowda institute of medical sciences, Bangalore. The father of the petitioner approached the chairman of the governing council of Dr. Ambedkar medical college and he demanded a sum of Rs. 3.5 lakhs for giving the 'petitioner a seat in the college. The petitioner was also told that as far as the amount of Rs. 3.5 lakhs was concerned, no receipt will be issued. As the petitioner was unable to pay the said amount, she was not given a seat in the said college. The father of the petitioner approached the principal of kempegowda institute of medical sciences, to which college also the petitioner had applied and he also contacted the vice president of the committee; and the father of the petitioner was told that at least Rs. 3 lakhs should be paid for admitting the petitioner to the 1 year mbbs course of that college. As the petitioner was unable to pay such huge amount, the petitioner was not given a seat. The father of the petitioner in the circumstances addressed a letter to the vice chancellor of the Bangalore university complaining about the collection to the tune of Rs. 5 to 10 lakhs for giving a seat in the private medical colleges. Copy of the letter addressed is produced as annexure-b. The father of the petitioner also addressed a representation in detail complaining about collection of huge amount for giving seats in private medical and engineering colleges, in the state, to the chancellor of the universities in the state. Copy of the letter is produced as Annexure-C . After making the general allegations regarding the practice of collection of heavy capitation fee for giving seats in private medical colleges, it was stated in particular, relating to the demand of capitation fee for giving a seat to the petitioner. The petitioner has stated that reference to this evil had figured on the floor of the state legislature also and the speaker himself had stated on 12-6-1990 on the floor of the legislature that the private medical colleges in the state were extracting money in the name of education. The petitioner has also alleged that the members of the "state legislature had criticised the government in the legislative assembly on 13-6-1990 for the failure on the part of the government to abolish the capitation fee in medical colleges. The petitioner has also produced an Article published on 29-7-1990 issue of 'deccan her aid' under the head 'capitation boom', according to which even according to the official estimates, the private colleges in the state were collecting Rs. 70 to Rs. 80 crores every year in the form of donations and fees. (iii) apart from the capitation fee, which the management are collecting unauthorisedly, the state government itself has fixed the tuition fee in respect of management seats in private medical colleges at Rs. 25,000-00 per annum for Karnataka students, Rs. 60,000-00 per annum for non-Karnataka students and Rs. 80,000-00 per annum for foreigners, though according to the regulations of the university and the conditions of affiliation, the fees prescribed in affiliated colleges should not be twice the standard fees fixed for the course by the university. The standard fees prescribed in government colleges and for government seats in private colleges is Rs. 2,000-00 per annum, whereas the tuition fees fixed for management seats was 121/2 times more even in respect of Karnataka students as the fee fixed is Rs. 25,000-00 per annum and it is 30 times for citizens who are non-Karnataka as the fee fixed was Rs. 60,000-00 and for foreign students it was 40 times the fee fixed in government colleges and government seats in private colleges. (iv) the petitioner has pleaded that the colleges having been affiliated to the Bangalore university, are instrumentalities of the state and therefore 'state' as defined in Article 12 of the Constitution of India and therefore bound by Article 14 of the Constitution and therefore selection for admission in these colleges had to be made strictly according to merit. In the alternative, the plea of the petitioner is, even assuming that the private medical colleges and their managements are not 'state' as defined in Article 12 of the constitution, they are discharging public duties, which are regulated by . The act and the universities Act, and particularly as the act prohibits the collection of capitation fee, the private colleges are required to admit students to the colleges strictly according to merit as that is the only intent and purpose of the act and as that is the only method by which the object and purpose of the Act, namely, prohibition of collection of capitation fee, could be ensured.

(3.) on the above allegations, inter alia, the petitioner has sought for the following reliefs: xxx xxx xxx (c) to direct the university and the medical colleges i.e., respondent No. 2-4 herein to fill up all the seats on the basis of merit only; (d) to direct the respondents not to collect the tuition fee in excess of what has been prescribed by the university; (e) grant mandamus against the university directing it to enforce the statutes governing the affiliation of the colleges and direct the university to prevent these affiliated colleges from collecting capitation fee and tuition fee at the rate of Rs. 25,000/- per annum and three and half lakhs; (f) to direct the respondent No. 3 and 4 to admit the petitioner to the 1st year mbbs course class of any of the medical colleges." Thus it may be seen that the petitioner has sought for a writ of mandamus restraining the respondent-colleges from collecting higher rate of tuition fee and also from collecting capitation fee and directing the respondent medical colleges to admit her to the mbbs degree course.