After a PIL was filed before the Bombay high court by a social activist seeking an inquiry by the charity commissioner against the Bhujbal Knowledge City in Nashik, chairman of Mumbai Education Trust (MET) run by PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal, sought an independent audit of the institute for allegedly defrauding students into paying excess fees worth `8 crore in just two years since 2010.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M.S. Sanklecha, which was hearing the PIL filed by Balasaheb Jambulkar, was sought an independent audit by MET co-founder Sunil Karve’s lawyers.
The PIL filed by Mr Jambulkar alleges that Mr Bhujbal and MET institute defrauded the Shikshan Shulk Samiti — the government committee that sets fees for private professional institutes. It demanded quashing of the fees, returning excess amounts to students, suspending the trustees and appointing an administrator.
The PIL states that the committee fixes fees based on valid and permitted educational expenses actually incurred by privately run institutes in the previous accounting year.
It alleges that the four Nashik institutes of management, polytechnic, engineering and pharmacy run by the trust “fraudulently” showed inflated amounts as expenses. It adds that the trust therefore misled the committee into fixing “higher” fees.
Earlier, Mr Karve had also sought a CBI inquiry against Bhujbal and his family including his son and nephew for alleged misappropriation of funds and misuse of property of MET to the tune of `177 crore.