MALAMKARA ORTHODOX SYRIAN CHURCH MEDICAL COLLEGE Vs. FEE REGULATORY COMMITTEE FOR PROFESSIONAL COLLEGES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Ext. P5 order passed by the Fee Regulatory Committee for Professional Colleges dated 26/04/2007 is under challenge in this writ petition on the ground that the Regulatory Committee has exceeded the powers conferred on it under S.6 of Act 19/06 in interfering with the power of the management in fixing the fee structure.

(2.) Petitioner has sought for a declaration that petitioner is entitled to collect fees from the students based on the fee structure proposed by them before the committee. Government of Kerala has constituted the Fee Regulatory Committee under S.6 of Act 19 of 2006. Powers conferred on the Regulatory Committee under the Act was the subject matter of the decision of this Court in Lisie Medical and Education Institutions v. State of Kerala, 2007 (1) KHC 161 : ILR 2007 (1) Ker. 81 : 2007 (1) KLT 409. This Court placing reliance on the decision of the Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation case, 2002 (8) SCC 481 (TMA Pai Foundation and Others v. State of Karnataka and Others, 2002 KHC 1397 : AIR 2003 SC 355), Islamic Academy's case, 2003 (6) SCC 697 (Islamic Academy of Education v. State of Karnataka, 2003 KHC 1370 : 2003 (3) KLT SN 118 : AIR 2003 SC 3724 : JT 2003 (7) SC 1), and Inamdar's case, 2005 (6) SCC 537 (P. A. Inamdar and Others v. State of Maharashtra and Others, 2005 KHC 1293 : 2005 (4) KLT SN 3 : ILR 2005 (4) Ker. 629 : AIR 2005 SC 3226) held as follows:

(3.) Learned counsel appearing for the respondent on the other hand contended that the Committee is not bound to accept the fee structure submitted by the management and in appropriate cases it can modify the fee structure fixed by the institutions depending upon the facts of each case. Learned counsel submitted that the Committee has examined all the materials furnished by the management and after taking into consideration of all aspects of the matter an amount of Rs.1,30,000/- was fixed per student per annum for the petitioner's institution for the academic years 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010.