The Indian Law Society (ILS) and its affiliate, ILS Law College, have approached the Bombay High Court to contest a directive from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) that advises a significant reduction in student fees. This directive advocates for an 88% decrease in the ‘Other Activities Fees’ and an overall 77% reduction in total fees. This legal challenge is slated to be reviewed by a bench comprising Justices R.I. Chagla and Farhan Dubash on June 18.
The petition filed by ILS Law College requests permission to maintain the ‘other fees’ at approximately ₹37,000, consistent with the previous academic year’s charges. The college argues that SPPU and its fee fixation committee have unjustly set the ‘other fees’ at a mere ₹4,340 without a proposal from the college, rendering the action unauthorized and beyond legal jurisdiction.
ILS Law College asserts that the committee’s prescribed fee is insufficient, placing the institution at risk of substantial financial loss and jeopardizing its sustainability. A significant point of contention is a Right to Information (RTI) query from 2025, which revealed that between 2019 and 2024, the college collected around ₹29.6 crore under unauthorized ‘other fees,’ with only ₹4 crore allocated towards student welfare.
The college seeks the annulment of the fee committee’s directive and a declaration affirming its right to levy ₹36,790 as ‘other fees,’ with the possibility of future adjustments. Furthermore, they are requesting interim relief to prevent any coercive measures, such as exclusion from the Common Entrance Test (CET) admission process for the 2026-27 academic year, pending the resolution of their plea.
