The consensual agreement between the State Government and the association of unaided professional educational institutions is binding, and the scope of judicial review in matters of seat allotment and fee determination is limited.

JUDGMENT/ORDER

ALOK ARADHE, J. - The petitioners in W.P.No.20701/2022 and W.P.No.20921/2022 are minority educational institutions established and administered by the Trust. Similarly, petitioner in W.P.No.20917/2022 is an educational institution administered by the Trust. The petitioners are aggrieved by the action of the State Government in drawing up a seat matrix and in notifying the fee structure for admission to various post graduate courses for academic year 2022-23. In order to appreciate the grievance of the petitioners, few relevant facts need mention. For the facility of reference, facts from W.P.No.20701/22 are being referred to.

2. The petitioner is a private unaided linguistic minority institution, which was established and is being administered by Srinivasa Trust primarily for the benefit of members of Telugu linguistic minority community in the State of Karnataka. For the academic year 2022-23, the State Government had prepared draft terms of consensual agreement and shared it with respondent No.4, which is an association of minority professional colleges in the State of Karnataka (hereinafter referred to as 'the association' for short). The association in turn shared it with its members including the petitioner for deliberation and consideration. The petitioner thereupon submitted a representation on 7/7/2022 and 19/9/2022 expressing serious reservations and concerns in respect of various clauses in the draft agreement.

3. However, the Karnataka Examination Authority (hereinafter referred to as 'the authority' for short) issued a notification on 19/9/2022 inviting applications from candidates who had qualified for NEET PG 2022 / NEET MDS - 2022 for grant of admission to post graduate courses for the academic year 2022-23. On 8/10/2022 a calendar of events indicating the seats for PG medical and dental admissions for academic year 2022-23 was published. The association entered into a consensual agreement with Government of Karnataka on 4/10/2022 in the matter of regulating admissions and fee structure of post graduate courses in private professional colleges for the academic year 2022-23. Thereafter, on 9/10/2022 seat matrix was published.

4. The petitioner on perusal of seat matrix found that while in respect of several other institutions the overall intake across all PG streams had been factored in for the purposes of such apportionment, keeping in view the fact that the increase of fee structure has been confined only to management quota seats, in case of the petitioner, the distribution of seats is taken up on course wise basis.

5. The petitioner thereupon submitted a representation on 13/10/2022 to the Association to immediately withdraw from Central counseling conducted by the authority in view of discrepancy in seat matrix for admission to Post Graduate Degree / Diploma courses for the academic year 2022-23. In the representation, it was stated that fee being charged / chargeable was Rs.12, 48, 176.00, Rs.3, 12, 048.00 and Rs.1, 56, 971.00 respectively for clinical, para clinical and pre clinical courses. It was further stated that concession agreed to be given was 20% of the said amount Rs.9, 98, 540.00 Rs.2, 49, 638.00 and Rs.1, 25, 576.00. However, in the impugned notification, the 20% of concession was worked out to Rs.6, 98, 280.00 Rs.1, 74, 570.00 and Rs.87, 286.00 in respect of clinical, para clinical and pre clinical courses respectively.

6. The petitioner thereafter submitted detailed representations on 14/10/2022 and 16/10/2022. The petitioners filed these writ petitions, in which writ of certiorari has been sought for quashment of impugned seat matrix as well as fee notification issued by the authority. The petitioners in addition seek a writ of mandamus directing the authority to consider petitioners seat distribution list submitted on 7/10/2022. The petitioners also seek a writ of mandamus directing the Government of Karnataka to determine the fee, through a fee fixation committee for the bloc