Minority Benefits

Author(s): Babita Jain
Publisher: Shrut Samvardhan Samsthan

Page 63

Fee regulation
Among the law declared in the case of T.M.A. Pai Foundation (Supra) every institution is free to devise its own fee structure subject to the limitation that there can be no profiteering and no capitation fee can be charged directly or indirectly. Reference may, in this connection be also made to the following observations of their Lordships in the case of P.A. Inamdar (Supra):
"144. The two Committees for monitoring admission procedure and determining fee structure in the judgment of Islamic Academy are in our view, permissible as regulatory measures aimed at protecting the interest of the student community as a whole as also the minorities themselves, in maintaining required standards of professional education on nonexploitative terms in their institutions. Legal provisions made by the State Legislatures or the scheme evolved by the Court for monitoring admission procedure and fee fixation do not violate the right of minorities under Article 30(1) or the right of minorities and non-minorities under Article 19(1) (g). They are reasonable restrictions in the interest of minority institutions permissible under Article 30(1) and in the interest of general public under Article 19(6) of the Constitution."
(emphasis supplied)
Policy of Reservation in admission
Article 15(5) of the Constitution of India exempts an educational institution covered under Article 30(1) from the policy of reservation in admission. That being so, provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 cannot be made applicable to an educational institution covered under Article 30(1). Moreover, P.A. Inamdar (Supra) is an authority on proposition of law that neither can the policy of reservation be enforced by the State nor can any quota or percentage of admission be carved out to be appropriated by the State in a minority educational institution. The State cannot regulate or control admissions in minority educational institutions so as to compel them to give up a share of the available seats to candidates chosen by the State. This would amount to nationalisation of seats which has been specifically disapproved in T.M.A. Pai (Supra). Such imposition of quota of state seats or enforcing reservation policy of the State on available seats in minority educational institutions are acts constituting a serious cncroachment on the right enshrined in Article 30(1). Such appropriation of seats can also not be held to be a regulatory measure or a reasonable restriction within the meaning of Article 30(1) of the Constitution.
Minority Ben