New Delhi: The honourable Supreme Court of India, day before yesterday, Monday 2nd May, found holding that the right to establish and administer educational institutions comes with the “clutches and shackles”, and also ruled the authority of the State as to regulating admissions and fixing of fee by private unaided professional education institutions is a “reasonable restriction” in the larger interest of Public.
The decision was taken by the Constitutional bench of the honourable Top Court, headed by Justice- Anil R. Dave and comprising of Justice A. K. Sikri and other justices. And it was also seen that the said bench old that the right to establish and administer the private unaided professional institutions is not absolute right, however, there is restriction on it in the form of state’s regulatory powers which ware meant for checking the profiteering and commercialization of the education.
While authoring the judgement, the Bench’s Justice- A. K. Sikri found stated that “with liberalization, the Government has encouraged the establishments of the privately managed institutions.” The said thing is done, as per the bench with the hope and expectation that the “private sector will play vital role in the field of education with Philanthropic approach/ ideals in mind as this activity is not to be taken for the purpose of profiteering, but more as a societal welfare.”
Thus, in the short manner, it is understood that the Court approached not to tolerate the commercialization of the education and also it is clarifying that the State or Government is having vital role to play in seeing that the private professional institutions are meant for spreading education and not for making money.
Moreover, observing that there are regulator bodies serving in the fields of the Insurance, Electricity and also in the power and telecommunication sectors, as such it is confirmed by the bench that, “in any welfare economy, even for private industries, there is a need for regulatory body.”
The decision is as such made in the batch of petitions which was filed by the private self- financing medical and dental colleges against the law of Madhya Pradesh in which the regulating of the admission and fixing the fees were covered under law.
