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IIMs not just for elite: Supreme Court

In a blow to those opposed the Government’s decision to drastically slash the fees of Indian Institutes Of Management (IIMs), the Supreme Court on Monday said these institutes of excellence should not be accessible only to the elite section of the society and sought to know the basis for charging an annual fee of Rs 1.5 lakh per student.

Hearing a PIL by three petitioners - an advocate, a student and a faculty member of IIM — a bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Justice S.H. Kapadia also questioned their locus standi before adjourning the hearing till February 27.

“Who are you, what is you locus?" the bench asked and added “if the IIMs were satisfied with the decision of the Government, who are you to challenge it?”

Counsel for petitioners, senior advocate Ashok Desai contended that the Government by reducing the fees of the students wanted to increase the dependence of these institutes on it for funds and thereby opening avenues for interference.

However, the court said it would proceed further with the petition only after the petitioners provided details of the components on the basis of which fee was being charged from the students, the subsidy it gets from the Government and the balance sheet of the institutions for the last six years.

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