In a setback to Maharashtra PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, the Bombay High Court on Friday directed the State government to investigate charges of fraud made against the educational trust which he and his family founded.
The Maharashtra Shikshan Shulka Samiti has been asked to conduct the probe within two months.
A Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah, passed the order after hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by freedom fighter Balasaheb Jambhulkar of Pune.
Mr. Jambhulkar accused Mr. Bhujbal of “exploiting the students for personal aggrandisement.” Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) inflated its balance sheet to charge exorbitant fees in four colleges it runs at Bhujbal Knowledge City in Nashik. The trust had duped the students and the government of Rs. eight crore between 2010 and 2012.
Interestingly, during the court proceedings in the past, Sunil Karve, a co-founder of the trust, also concurred with the petitioner. He told the court in an affidavit that Mr. Bhujbal had misled the government and committed a fraud on the students. He said the family had kept him in the dark about the proceedings of the trust.
According to the petitioner, the MET Institute of Engineering, the MET Institute of Polytechnic, the MET Institute of Management and the MET Institute of Pharmacy produced false records before the Shikshan Shulka Samiti to get approval for a higher fee structure. Even the government was duped as it paid the fees on behalf of students of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
As per the government procedure, an educational trust has to produce evidence of expenditure in the previous year for determining the fee structure for future educational years.
The petition said the balance sheet reflected “non-existing expenses fraudulently shown in the statement of account at various points.” Expenses not related to the courses were also charged on students.
Mr. Bhujbal questioned the maintainability of the petition and justified the accounts of the trust.
