The Bombay High Court recently disposed of a writ petition filed by a student of ILS Law College, Pune alleging excess fee collection and underutilisation of funds by the administration [Mayur Suhas Garud v. The Principal, The ILS Law College And Ors]
The student had sought a refund of fees amounting ₹1,04,863 that had been collected over academic years of 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2024-25.
Additional Government Pleader Reena A Salunkhe told the Court that the State would decide on the student's complaint and communicate the decision within a week.
Counsel appearing for ILS Law College - Advocates Shailendra Kanetkar and Shubham Suryawanshi - stated that no action had been taken against the student other than the issuance of a show cause notice for protesting against the College.
A Bench of Justices RI Chagla and Advait M Sethna accepted statements made on behalf of the State and the College while disposing of the petition.
In 2025, after a Right to Information (RTI) response revealed underutilised funds collected from student fees for facilities that were also being rented out for third-party use, the petitioner protested and had been subsequently issued a show cause notice by the administration.
The student claimed that in 2020 and 2024, Savitribai Phule Pune University, under whose aegis ILS operates, had determined student fees for the law college at ₹2,345 under 19 approved heads. ILS purportedly collected ₹39,135 per student with charges under 17 additional unauthorised heads in violation of the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1987.
As per the RTI response, ILS had collected ₹29,64,37,402 under the unauthorised heads during the last five academic years. With only ₹4,09,19,990.95 actually utilised towards student welfare, the student had protested and was subsequently issued a show cause notice by the administration.
[Read order]