SC upholds AICTE's Rs 23.10 crore penalty on college

The Supreme Court, on Friday, allowed the AICTE to impose a penalty of Rs 23.10 crore on Fore School of Management, New Delhi, for creating additional seats to its management course, saying the institution had no business to admit the students beyond the number permitted to it.

A bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant found the action of the petitioner-institution to be “totally illegal and contrary to law”.

The court observed that the educational institutions admit students beyond the capacity, putting the future of the students at stake. However setting aside the admissions was harsh upon the students who would suffer because of the illegal action of the institution, said the court.

The court noted the institution admitted an additional 42 students in 2016 for a fee of Rs 11 lakh from each, without the mandatory approval from the AICTE.

Relying upon the AICTE's Approval Process Handbook, the court said the regulatory body can impose the penalty. “The petitioner has been let off lightly since only one penalty has been imposed, whereas the AICTE could have imposed more than one penalty prescribed,” it noted.

The court also directed that the students who have completed the course must be awarded the degrees. “The students who had paid large sums of money should not be made to suffer. They have already completed the course but the degrees have not been awarded to them," it said.

The institution which had already deposited Rs 4 crore, was told to deposit the remaining amount of Rs 19.10 crore with the AICTE within eight weeks.