Kerala HC notice to govt. on plea challenging NRI quota fee

Kochi, Aug 1 (UNI) The Kerala high court today issued notice to the state government on a writ petition challenging the ''excess rate of fee'' in the NRI quota seats in self-financing colleges in the Kerala Self-Financing Colleges Regulation Act, 2006.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice V K Bali and Justice M Ramachandran admitted the writ petition, filed by the UAE Pravasi Coordination Council, and posted it for September 12 along with connected cases challenging the Act.

The petitioner organisation submitted that section 9 (1) of the Act was unconstitutional. It contended that the ''children of Mittal and Swaraj Paul are treated on parity with the poor dependents of other NRIs, who are compelled to go abroad for earning their livelihood''.

It further submitted that the imposition of five times more fee in the NRI quota seats will amount to cross subsidy, which was prohibited by the Supreme Court in the T M A Pai case.

According to the petitioner, the term NRI was not defined anywhere in the Act and the impugned provision gave unrestricted and unbridled power to the college managements to impose unbearable fee from NRIs.

UNI XR ARC ROY SS MSJ VV1422