Accused of overcharging, Bombay High Court grants relief to St Xavier's

Eleven years after the Churchgate-based St Xaviers Institution of Education was accused of overcharging students by the University of Mumbai, the Bombay High Court has quashed and set aside the resolution issued in 2006, directing the college not to charge extra fees.

A division bench of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice Prakash Naik while allowing the petition filed by the institute said, "We find that the resolution passed by the respondent committee is contrary to the rules and regulations and is also violative of principles of natural justice."

Two students of the 2004-05 batch, who had failed in Part B of the BEd course, had approached the students grievance redressal committee after the institute asked them to deposit an amount of Rs 6,088 each as term fees for keeping an additional term.

The court noted that for conducting practical training for the students who have failed, the college has to engage additional lecturers or call upon existing lecturers to take on additional work. Besides, the management is also required to bear additional administrative costs.