Date:23/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/23/stories/2008082350460100.htm

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No nod for pact with managements

J. Venkatesan

Supreme Court allows Kerala to withdraw application, approach fee panel

State had entered to an agreement with six medical colleges
It had provisions for a differential fee structure

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Kerala government to withdraw its application for a direction to enforce the consensual agreement between the State and the managements of six private medical colleges for the academic year 2008-09.

Earlier, a Bench of Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice D.K. Jain made it clear to senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the State, that it could not approve of the agreement and in particular the differential fee structure arrived at between the government and the association of the managements. Mr. Venugopal then withdrew the application with liberty to approach the fee fixation committee (headed by P.A. Mohammed) and the Bench granted permission.

Earlier, Mr. Venugopal submitted that the apex court’s judgment in the Inamdar case provided for entering into an agreement with private managements in the ratio of 50:50.

[As per the agreement with the six private medical colleges, 50 per cent of the total seats in the colleges will be filled by the government from the list prepared by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations in accordance with merit and the reservation principles followed by the government. The remaining 50 per cent shall be filled as per the minority status of the college.)

He said that in the agreement a differential fee structure had been devised by which the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Most Backward Classes would pay only Rs.45,000. For 35 per cent seats the managements would collect Rs.5.50 lakh and from Non-Resident Indian students, Rs.9 lakh.

Justice Jain told the counsel that “when you say the Inamdar judgment provides for entering into agreement, why do you need our approval.” The counsel said the apex court had been approving similar agreements in Karnataka for the last four years. Justice Jain said “this approval by us will open floodgates and we don’t want to do that.”

Senior counsel L. Nageswara Rao, appearing for students, submitted that while the fee fixation committee had fixed Rs.2.40 lakh as fee per student, the State, through the agreement, had increased it to Rs.5.50 lakh and an additional Rs.5 lakh by way of caution deposit.

Mr. Venugopal said that “the State has no surplus funds for distribution to poor students and that is why the differential fee structure agreement.”