Annamalai University Can’t Devise Its Own Fee Structure For Medical/Engineering Professional Degree Courses: SC [Read Judgment]

‘Insofar as professional courses leading to degrees in Medicine and Engineering are concerned, the matter must be screened and assessed by Committee on Fixation of Fee and the submission that the University was entitled to fix fees on its own without the intervention of such Committee has to be rejected.’The Supreme Court in M Aamira Fathima v. Annamalai University, has held that. ‘Insofar as professional courses leading to degrees in Medicine and Engineering are concerned, the matter must be screened and assessed by Committee on Fixation of Fee and the submission that the University was entitled to fix fees on its own without the intervention of such Committee has to be rejected.’ The Supreme Court in M Aamira Fathima v. Annamalai University, has held that Annamalai University is not entitled and competent to devise its own fee structure for medical and engineering professional degree courses without having the fee fixed by the Committee on Fixation of Fee. The high court, considering the definition of educational institution as appearing in Section 2 of 1992 Act, came to the conclusion that for the purposes of application of the provisions of 1992 Act, the institution ought to have been notified by the state government and an appropriate reference must be made to the Fee Fixation Committee. Therefore, insofar as professional courses leading to degrees in Medicine and Engineering are concerned, the matter must be screened and assessed by Committee on Fixation of Fee and the submission that the University was entitled to fix fees on its own without the intervention of such Committee has to be rejected.” ‘Estoppel’ cannot be a ground to deny the express protection available under legislation The court also disagreed with ‘estoppel’ view taken by the high court, observing that if a particular modality is prescribed by the legislature any action in defiance or ignorance of such modality cannot be protected or preserved on the plea of estoppel.