Kerala: Self Financing Pvt College moves against HC for fee structure

Kochi: Private self financing medical colleges have gone to court against the fee structure fixed by Kerala Medical Education(Regulation and Control of Admission to Private Medical Educational Institutions) Ordinance 2017 nominated Committee.

The petition has been filed by Kozhikode-based Kunhitharuvai Memorial Charitable Trust and its Executive Trustee, K M Navas. The trust runs KMCT Medical College at Kozhikode.

According to the petitioner, the granting of powers to this five member committee to fix the fee structure of medical seats in each private medical college was against the fundamental rights of the colleges as guaranteed under law. The petitioner further declared that it was also against the laws declared by the apex court in TMA Pai Foundation case, reports the Hindu.

"The principle laid down by the apex court starting from TMA Pai Foundation onwards uniformly recognizes the right of the institution to determine the fee. Therefore, the conferment of power in terms of Sec. 8 (1)(a) of the Act to determine the fee is taking away the fundamental rights of the petitioner in administering the institution. As such, the conferment of power on the committee to determine the fee is against law and therefore liable to be declared as unconstitutional," the petition said.

The trust in its petition has further added that Admission and fee regulatory committee (AFRC) fixing fees for courses conducted by minority medical colleges amounts to violation of constitutional rights guaranteed to minorities,

The petitioning trust has pleaded that the order passed by AFRC on June 26, fixing the fees to be collected from students who gained admissions to the private medical college be quashed.

The petitioner has also sought a declaration by the court that the ordinance issued by the state government to regulate admission and fee structure in private medical colleges be declared illegal and inoperative. The trusts petition further requests the court to declare that the AFRC is not constituted lawfully and that therefore is a nullity in the eyes of law.

The petitioner has further challenged the ordinance issued by the government initially on April 10 and reissued on June 1, as not having been notified in the gazette, as required by law.

'Though an admission and fee regulatory committee is defined under the ordinance, the committee was not notified in the gazette in the manner specified. Therefore, it cannot be said that the government constituted a valid committee,' the petition alleges reports TOI.