The Hindu : Centre gets a week to clarify stand on autonomy to IIMs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 13, 2004

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Centre gets a week to clarify stand on autonomy to IIMs

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, MARCH 12. The Supreme Court today granted a week to the Centre to clarify its stand on the commitment not to interfere with the functioning of the Indian Institutes of Management and provision of adequate funds in view of the drastic reduction in the admission fee from Rs. 1.5 lakhs to Rs. 30,000.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice S.H. Kapadia, gave time till March 19 to the Additional Solicitor-General, Mukul Rohtagi, in view of an application seeking recording of the Government's commitment in the order dated February 27, when the apex court disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition.

Describing the PIL as "motivated and mala fide," Mr. Rohtagi said the court had disposed of the plea on the basis of the Government's clear stand. The petitioners were raking up the issue again linking the decision to the autonomy of the institutes.

He said if the word "undertaking" was incorporated instead of "statement" in the order, any decision taken by the Government vis-à-vis the business schools would result in contempt proceedings.

The Chief Justice said that if the Government gave the undertaking not to interfere in the functioning of the IIMs, the court would clarify that any future litigation on the issue of interference in the "autonomy" of the institutes would have to be agitated by the respective parties.

The application filed by Sandeep Parekh, advocate, and two others who had challenged the February 5 order of the Government, said the Supreme Court while disposing of the PIL did not record the undertaking made on behalf of the Union Human Resources Development Ministry.

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