¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

1

RNI No. MAHENG/2009/35528

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ
+ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö

´É¹ÉÇ 1, +ÆEò 49(4)]

ºÉÉä¨É´ÉÉ®úú, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

[ {ÉÞ¹`äö 14, ËEò¨ÉiÉ : ¯û{ÉªÉä 27.00

+ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ  Gò¨ÉÉÆEò  94
|ÉÉÊvÉEÞòiÉ  |ÉEòÉ¶ÉxÉ
¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ  Ê´ÉvÉÉxÉ¨ÉÆb÷³ýÉSÉä  +ÊvÉÊxÉªÉ¨É  ´É  ®úÉVªÉ{ÉÉ±ÉÉÆxÉÒ  |ÉJªÉÉÊ{ÉiÉ  Eäò±Éä±Éä  +vªÉÉnäù¶É  ´É  Eäò±Éä±Éä  Ê´ÉÊxÉªÉ¨É  +ÉÊhÉ  Ê´ÉÊvÉ  ´É  xªÉÉªÉ
Ê´É¦ÉÉMÉÉEòbÚ÷xÉ  +É±Éä±ÉÒ  Ê´ÉvÉäªÉEäò  (<ÆOÉVÉÒ  +xÉÖ´ÉÉnù).

In pursuance of clause (3) of article 348 of the Constitution of India, the following translation in English
of  the  Maharashtra Unaided  Private  Professional  Educational  Institutions  (Regulation  of  Admissions  and
Fees)  Act,  2015  (Mah.  Act  No.  XXVIII  of  2015),  is  hereby  published  under  the  authority  of  the  Governor.

By  order  and  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of  Maharashtra,

N. J. JAMADAR,
I/c.  Secretary  (Legislation)  to  Government,
Law and Judiciary Department.

MAHARASHTRA ACT  No. XXVIII OF  2015.
(First  published,  after  having  received  the  assent  of  the  Governor  in  the
“ Maharashtra Government  Gazette ”, on  the 17th  August 2015).

An Act  to provide  for regulation of  admissions and  fees by  Unaided Private
Professional  Educational Institutions  in the  State of  Maharashtra and  for
matters  connected  therewith  or  incidental  thereto.

WHEREAS both Houses of the State  Legislature were not in session;

AND  WHEREAS  the  Governor  of  Maharashtra  was  satisfied  that
circumstances existed which rendered it necessary for him to take immediate
action  to  provide  for  regulation  of  admissions  and  fees  by  Unaided  Private
Professional  Educational  Institutions  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  and  for
matters  connected  therewith  or  incidental  thereto ; and,  therefore,
promulgated  the  Maharashtra  Unaided  Private  Professional  Educational
Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Ordinance, 2015 on the 12th
May 2015 ;

Mah.
Ord.  VII
of  2015.

¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö-94---1

(1)

2

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

AND  WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  replace  the  said  Ordinance,  by  an
Act  of  the  State  legislature,  with  certain  minor  modification;  it  is  hereby
enancted in the Sixty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows :—

CHAPTER  I

PRELIMINARY

Short  title,
extent  and
commencement.

1.

(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Maharashtra  Unaided  Private
Professional  Educational  Institutions  (Regulation  of  Admissions  and  Fees)
Act, 2015.

(2)

(3)

It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.

It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 12th May 2015.

Definitions.

2.

In  this  Act,  unless  the  context  otherwise  requires,—

(a) “Admissions  Regulating  Authority”  means  the  Authority
constituted  under  section  7  for  regulating  the  admissions  in  Unaided
Private  Professional  Educational  Institutions  and  conducting  CETs;

(b) “appropriate  authority”  means  the  authorities  declared  by  the
State  or  Central  Government  which  approve  and  regulate  the
professional  courses  or  educational  disciplines;

(c) “Centralized  Admission  Process  (CAP)”  means  the  centralized
process  of  admission  carried  out  by  the  competent  authority  through
single window system in a transparent manner for admitting the students
for  various  professional  courses  in  educational  institutions ;

(d) “Common  Entrance  Test  (CET)”  means  the  entrance  test
conducted  for  determination  of  merit  of  the  candidates  by  Centralized
Admission  Process  (CAP)  for  the  purpose  of  admission  to  professional
education  courses  through  a  single  window  system;

(e) “Competent  Authority”  means  the  Commissioner  of  State  CET
appointed  by  the  Government  under  section  10,  for  conducting  CET
through  CAP  for  the  admissions  into  Private  Professional  Educational
Institutions ;

(f) “Director”  means  the  Director  of  Higher  Education  or,  of
Technical  Education  or,  of  Medical  Education  and  Research  or,  of  any
other Directorate or Commissioner of any Commissionarate of the State
Government,  entrusted  with  the  task  of  supervision  of  the  Private
Professional  Educational  Institution;

(g) “Fees”  means  the  amount  fixed  as  fee  which  includes  tuition
fee,  library  fee,  gymkhana  fee,  examination  fee,  development  fee  or
amount payable for any curricular or co-curricular activities, laboratory
fee,  information  brochure  fee  and  any  other  amount  collected  from  the
students, by whatsoever name called, and accepted in whichever manner,
that  is  made  payable  to  a  Private  Professional  Educational  Institution,
for whatever purpose, by any candidate admitted to a professional course
at  such  institution,  but  excludes  any  charges  payable  towards  use  of
any  optional  hostel  accommodation,  mess  charges  and  Students
Insurance  Fees;

(h) “Fees  Regulating  Authority”  means  the  authority  constituted
under  section  11  for  determination  and  regulation  of  fee  in  unaided
institutions;

(i) “Foreign Student” means a student who is not a citizen of India;
(j) “Government”  or  “State  Govemment”  means  the  Government

of Maharashtra;

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

3

43  of
1961.

42  of
1999.

57  of
1955.

3  of
1956.

(k) “lateral  entry”  means  admission  of  students  in  second  year  of
the  course  against  seats  as  per  the  guidelines  of  the  appropriate
authorities;

(l) “management” means the managing committee or the governing
body, by whatever name called, of the Private Professional Educational
Institution  to  which  the  affairs  of  such  Institution  are  entrusted  and
where  such  affairs  are  entrusted  to  any  person,  by  whatever  name  or
designation  called,  includes  such  person;

(m) “Minority  Educational  Institution”  means  a  Private
Professional  Educational  Institution  notified  as  such  by  the  State
Government,  established  and  administered  for  and  by  the  persons
belonging  to  the  minority  community,  domiciled  in  the  State  of
Maharashtra, having right to do so under clause (1) of article 30 of the
Constitution  of  India;

(n) “Non-Resident  Indian  (NRI)”  means  a  person  who  is  “not
ordinarily resident” under sub-section (6) of section 6 of the Income Tax
Act,  1961,  and  includes  a  person  resident  outside  India  under  clause
(w)  of  section  2  of  the  Foreign  Exchange  Management  Act,  1999,  and
also  includes  his  child  or  ward;

(o) “Person of Indian Origin (PIO)” means a person who is a citizen
of a country other than India but who, at any time, was a citizen of India;
or in whose case either parent or any grandparent was a citizen of India
by virtue of the provisions of Part II of the Constitution of India or under
the Citizenship Act, 1955;

(p) “prescribed”  means  prescribed  by  rules  made  under  this

Act;

(q) “Private Professional Educational Institution” means any college,
school,  institute,  institution  or  other  body,  by  whatever  name  called,
conducting  any  professional  course  or  courses  approved  or  recognized
by  the  appropriate  authority  and  affiliated  to  any  university,  but  shall
not  include,—

(i) any  such  institution  established,  maintained  or
administered  by  the  Central  Government,  any  State  Government
or  any local  authority;

(ii) institution  declared  to  be  a  deemed  university  under

section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 ; or

(iii) a  university  to  which  the  provisions  of  the  University
Grants  Commission  (Establishment  and  Maintenance  of  Private
Universities)  Regulations,  2003  are  applicable;
(r) “Professional Education” means any educational course of study
declared  and  notified  as  such,  from  time  to  time  by  the  Government
which  includes  a  course  leading  to  the  award  of  an  Under  Graduate  or
Post-Graduate degree, diploma, by whatever name called and recognized
by  the  appropriate  authority;

(s) “profiteering”  means  any  amount  accepted  in  cash  or  kind,
directly  or  indirectly  which  is  in  excess  of  the  fee  approved  as  per  the
provisions  of  this Act;

(t) “regulations”  means  the  regulations  framed  by  the  Regulating

Authorities;

(u) “Regulating  Authority”  means  the  Admissions  Regulating
Authority  under  section  7  or  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  under
section 11, as the case may be ;

4

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

(v) “sanctioned  intake”  means  the  total  number  of  seats  sanctioned
or  approved  by  the  appropriate  authority  for  admitting  candidates  in  a
single  academic  year  in  each  professional  course  of  study  or  discipline
in  a  Private  Professional  Educational  Institution  at  the  appropriate  level
of  entry;

(w) “Stake-holders”  means  the  management,  the  students  studying  in

the  respective  institution  and  their  parents;

(x) “unaided  institution”  means  Private  Professional  Educational
Institution,  which  is  not  receiving  aid  or  grant-in-aid  from  the  Central
Government,  the  State  Government  or  the  local  authority;

(y) “University” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause

(f) of section 2 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

3  of
1956.

CHAPTER  II
REGULATION OF ADMISSIONS

Eligibility  for
admission.

3. (1)  The  eligibility  conditions  and  requirements  for  admission  to  a
professional course at any Private Professional Educational Institution shall
be  such  as  may  be  notified  by  the  Government  from  time  to  time,  but  shall
not  be  less  than,  those  stipulated  by  the  appropriate authority.

(2) No  student  shall  be  admitted  to  a  Private  Professional  Educational
Institution  unless  the  student  possesses  such  educational  or  equivalent
qualification as may be notified.

(3) Unaided  institution  shall  admit  students  through  a  process  as  may

be  prescribed.

Manner  of
admission.

4. The  admissions  to  seats  for  professional  course  in  every  unaided

institution  shall  be  carried  out  in  the  following  manner :—

(a) admission  to  seats  in  a  Private  Professional  Educational
Institution  excluding  institutional  quota  declared  by  Government  from
time  to  time,  shall  be  made  on  the  basis  of  merit  by  following  the
procedure  of  Common  Entrance  Test  (CET)    conducted  in  the  manner,
as may be prescribed by rules:

Provided  that,  the admission  to  institutional  quota  shall be  on  the
basis  of  merit  and  after  following  the  procedure  specified  by  the
appropriate  authority :

Provided  further  that,  the  State  Government  may  by  order  issued
from time to time exempt any professional courses, from requirement of
the  Common  Entrance  Test  (CET)  thereto.

(b)  admissions  to  such  institution  shall  be  carried  out  by  the
competent authority  through the Centralized  Admission Process  on the
basis  of  Common  Entrance  Test  (CET)  and  Centralized  Admission
Process  (CAP);

(c)  the  Competent  Authority  shall  supervise  and  guide  the  entire
Centralized Admission Process in such manner as it may specify with a
view  to  ensuring  that  the  process  is  fair,  transparent,  merit-based  and
non-exploitative.
5. Any  admission  made  in  contravention  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act

or  the rules  made  thereunder  shall be  void.

6.

(1) The  allocation of  seats  under different  categories  in an  unaided
institution,  not  being  a  Minority  Educational  Institution,  shall  be  in
accordance  with  the  Maharashtra  Private  Professional  Educational
Institutions  (Reservation  of  seats  for  admission  for  Scheduled  Castes,
Scheduled  Tribes,  De-notified  Tribes  (Vimukta  Jatis),  Nomadic  Tribes  and
Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006 and as per the Government policy declared
from time to time, including the NRI quota.

Mah.
XXX of
2006.

Irregular
admissions
void.

Allocation  and
reservation  of
seats.

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

5

(2) In an unaided Minority Educational Institution, the admissions shall
be  made  as  per  the  policy  of  the  State  Government  and  not  less  than
fifty-one per cent. of the sanctioned intake shall be filled by minority students
from  within  the  State,  belonging  to  the  minority  community  to  which  the
institution  belongs  on  the  basis  of  inter-se  merit  of  the  Common  Entrance
Test (CET)  and  Centralized  Admission  Process  (CAP) :

Provided  that,  if  any  seats  earmarked  for  the  minority  category  in  an
unaided  Minority  Educational  Institution  remain  to  be  filled  in  a  academic
year or  where the students leave  the institution after selection,  the unfilled
vacant  seats  shall  be  surrendered  to  the  Competent  Authority  of  the  State
Government  for  being  filled  up  from  the  minority  to  which  the  minority
institution belongs, on the basis of inter-se merit list prepared on the basis of
the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted in accordance with the provisions
of sub-section (4) of section 10  and Centralized Admission Process (CAP):

Provided further that, if any seats remain unfilled even thereafter, such
unfilled seats shall be filled from the student belonging to the general category
on the basis of merit of the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by the
Competent  Authority and  Centralized  Admission  Process  (CAP):

Provided  also  that,  if  such  institution  fails  to  admit  minimum  fifty-one
per cent. of its sanctioned intake from the persons belonging to the concerned
minority, for period of three consecutive years the Competent Authority shall
inform the State Government to refer such institution for taking action under
section 12C of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions
Act, 2004.

2  of
2005.

CHAPTER  III

ADMISSIONS REGULATING AUTHORITY AND STATE COMMON ENTRANCE TEST CELL

7.

(1)  There  shall  be  an  Authority  to  be  known  as  “the  Admissions
Regulating  Authority”  to  exercise  the  powers  conferred  on,  and  discharge
the functions assigned to it, under this Act.

(2) The  State  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the Official  Gazette,
constitute the Authority under sub-section (1). The said Authority shall be a
body  corporate  by  the  name  aforesaid  having  perpetual  succession  and
common seal and shall have power to acquire, hold, and dispose off property
both movable and immovable, and to do all things necessary for the purpose
of this Act, and may sue or be sued by its name.

Constitution
of
Admissions
Regulating
Authority
and  its
functions.

(3) The authority shall consist of,—

(a) a  retired Judge of  High Court  or retired
. .
officer of the Government of the rank of Chief Secretary

Chairperson

(b) an eminent educationist who has
worked  as  Vice-Chancellor  of  University

. . Member

(c) an expert of repute from the field of

. . Member

Professional  Education

(d) the  Registrar, Maharashtra  University of

. . Member

Health  Sciences,  Nashik

(e)  the  Director  of  Technical  Education
(f)  the  Director  of  Higher  Education
(g)  the Member-Secretary  of the  Maharashtra

. . Member
. . Member
Member

Council  of  Agricultural  Education  and  Research

(h) the Commissioner of State CET

. .

Secretary.

(4) The appointment of Chairperson and of members under clauses (a),

(b) and (c) of sub-section (3) shall be made by the State Government.

¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö-94---2

6

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

Term  of  Office
and  Conditions
of  Service  of
Chairperson
and  members
of  Admissions
Regulating
Authority.

(5) No  person  who  is  associated  with  any  private  aided  or  unaided
Professional  Educational  Institution  shall  be  eligible  for  being  a  member  of
Admissions  Regulating  Authority.

(6) A member of the Admissions Regulating Authority shall cease to be
so,  if  he  does  any  act  which  in  the  opinion  of  the  State  Government  is
unbecoming of a member of the Authority.

(7) The  Chairperson  shall  preside  over  the  meetings  of  the  Admissions
Regulating  Authority  and  the  authority  may  adopt  its  own  procedure  by
regulations, as it deem fit.

(8) No  act  or  proceeding  of  the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority  shall
be deemed to be invalid by reason merely of any vacancy in, or any defect in
the  constitution  thereof.

8.

(1)  The  term  of  Office  of  the  Chairperson  and  members  of  the
Admissions Regulating Authority, shall be of five years from the date of their
nomination  and  in  the  case  of  any  vacancy  arising  earlier  for  any  reason,
such vacancy shall be filled for the reminder period of the term.

(2) The  Chairperson  and  members  of  the  Admissions  Regulating

Authority  shall  not  be  eligible  for  re-appointment.

(3) The Chairperson or a Member may resign from the office in writing
addressed  to  the  Government  and  on  such  resignation  being  accepted,  his
office shall become vacant and the vacancy may be filled in within a period of
three months  from the date  of occurrence of  the vacancy.

(4) The  Chairperson  or  a  Member  of  the  Admissions  Regulating
Authority  may  be  removed,  if  he  does  any  act  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the
Government,  is  unbecoming  of  the  Chairperson  or  a  Member  of  such
Authority. The Chairperson or a Member so removed shall not be eligible for
re-appointment  on  such  Authority:

Provided  that,  no  Chairperson  or  Member  may  be  removed  from  the
Admissions  Regulating  Authority  without  giving  him  a  reasonable
opportunity  of  being  heard.

(5) The  salaries  and  allowances  to  be  paid  to  the  Chairperson  and
members  of  the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority  shall  be  such  as  may  be
notified,  either  prospectively  or  retrospectively,  by  the  Government,  from
time to  time.

(6) A  person  shall  be  disqualified  for  appointment  as  the  Chairperson

or  Member  of  the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority,  if  such  person,—

(i) is holding any office, post or is in any way directly or indirectly

connected  or  associated  with  any  unaided  institution;

(ii) has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence

which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Government,  involves  moral  turpitude;

(iii) is  an  undischarged  insolvent;
(iv) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a Competent Court;
(v) has  been  removed  or  dismissed  from  the  service  of  the
Government or a body corporate owned or controlled by the Government;
(vi) has,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Government  such  financial  or  other
interest  as  is  likely  to  affect  prejudicially  the  perforamance  of  the
functions  and  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  such  Chairperson  or  a
Member;  or

(vii) has  such  other  disqualifications  as  may  be  prescribed.

(7) The  other  terms  and  conditions  of  service  of  the  Chairperson  and

the members shall be such as may be prescribed.

7

Functions,
powers  and
procedure of
Admissions
Regulating
Authority.

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

9.

(1) The functions of the Admissions Regulating Authority shall be, —
(i) conducting  and  monitoring  CET  through  CET  Cell  established

under  this  Act;

(ii) verification  of  admission  proposals  and  final  approval  thereof;
(iii) cancellation of admission if found contrary to the provisions of

this  Act;

(iv) redressal  of  grievances  from  the  Stake-holders.

(2) The Admissions Regulating Authority, for the purpose of exercise of its

functions under this Act, shall have the following powers, namely: —

(i) to  adjudicate  the  dispute  amongst  the  Stake-holders  regarding

admission  of  the  students  in  the  unaided  institutions;

(ii) to  prescribe its  own procedure  regarding  scrutiny of  admission

proposals  and  grievance  redressal  mechanism  as  it  deem  fit;

(iii) to declare that the admission process of the unaided institution
that  is  unfair,  non-transparent  and  exploitative  and  therefore  invalid,
after  giving  a  reasonable  opportunity  of  being  heard  to  those  who  are
likely  to  be  adversely  affected  by  the  decision  of  the  Authority;

(iv) to  recommend  to  the  concerned  affiliating  University,  Board
or such other authority for withdrawal of affiliation or recognition of the
Institution  for admissions  those  are made  in  contravention  of this  Act.
(3) Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  sub-sections  (1)  and  (2)  the
Pravesh Niyanttran Samiti existing on to the date of commencement of this
Act  shall  continue  to  exercise  the  powers  of  the  Admissions  Regulating
Authority  till  such  Authority  is  duly  constituted  under  this  Act.

(4) In the discharge of its functions, and, for the purpose of making any
inquiry  under  this  Act,  the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority  shall  have  all
the  powers  of  a  Civil  Court  under  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  1908  while
trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely: —

5  of
1908.

(i) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and

examining him on oath;

(ii) the  discovery  and  production  of  any  document;
(iii) the  reception  of  evidence  on  affidavits;
(iv) the  issue of  commission  for the  examination  of the  witness.
(5) In carrying out its functions under this Act, the Authority and every

unaided Institution  shall  follow  the  following  procedure,  namely:  —

(i)

every  unaided  institution  shall  submit  the  ‘  admission-
approval  proposals  ’  to  the  concerned  Directorate  within  fifteen  days
from the cut-off date of admission;

(ii) every  institution  shall  submit  such  proposal  certified  by  the
concerned  Directorate  to  the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority  within
two  months from  the date  of such  certification;

(iii) every  such  proposal  received  from  the  Institution  by
Admissions  Regulating  Authority  shall  be  scrutinized  and  approved
before the 31st January of every year;

(iv) any grievance regarding admission may be admitted before the
Authority and shall be decided within a fortnight and before the cut-off
date  for  admission;

(v) the Admissions Regulating Authority shall have power to review

its  own  order  after  recording  the  reasons  therefor;

(vi) no  act  or  proceeding  of  the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority
shall be deemed to be invalid by reason merely of any vacancy in, or any
defect  in  the  constitution  thereof;

(vii) the  Admissions  Regulating  Authority  shall  by  regulations,
prescribe  its  procedure  regarding  scrutiny  of  admission  proposals  and
grievance  redressal  mechanism  as  it  deem  fit.

¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö-94---3

8

State  Common
Entrance  Test
Cell  and  its
functions.

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

(1) There shall  be a State  Common Entrance  Test Cell.

10.
(2) The State Common Entrance Test Cell shall be headed by an officer
working under the control of the Admissions Regulating Authority, not below
the  rank  of  the  Joint  Secretary,  nominated  as  the  Commissioner  of  State
CET.

(3) The Commissioner shall be assisted by officers of the rank of Joint
Director of the State Government, in the fields of the Medical, Technical,
Agriculture, Higher Education, etc.

(4) The Common Entrance Test for admissions to Unaided Institution

shall be conducted by the Competent Authority:

Provided that, the State Government may allow such admissions through

CET conducted by the authorities of the Central Government.

(5) The Cell shall have such powers and shall discharge such functions

and conduct the examination in such manner as may be prescribed.

(6) The Cell shall take all decisions in respect of conduct of the Common
Entrance Test in a fair manner maintaining the required confidentiality.
It  shall  appoint  examiners,  evaluators,  moderators  and  persons  for
assignment of software development required for the conduct of examination,
evaluation  and  result  processing,  and  also  appoint  persons  as  service
providers required for the conduct of the online or off-line examination and
shall undertake printing of various documents, etc. It shall exercise financial
powers for execution of all activities related to conduct of CETs.

(7) Admission to every seat excluding institutional quota shall be made
on the basis of merit secured at the Common Entrance Test (CET)  followed
by Centralized Admission Process of the State, subject to the reservation
policy of the State :

Provided that, nothing in this sub-section shall apply to the Centralized

Admission Process, being conducted for the academic year 2015-2016.

CHAPTER IV

REGULATION OF FEES

Fees
Regulating
Authority.

11.

(1) There shall be an Authority to be known as “the Fees Regulating
Authority” to exercise the powers conferred on, and discharge the functions
assigned to it, under this Act.

(2) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
constitute the Authority under sub-section (1). The said Authority shall be a
body corporate having perpetual succession and common seal and shall have
power to acquire, hold, and dispose off property both movable and immovable,
and to do all things necessary for the purpose of this Act, and may sue or be
sued by its name.

(3) The Authority shall consist of, —

(a) a  retired Judge of  High Court  or retired
officer of the Government of the rank of Chief Secretary

. . Chairperson

(b) an eminent educationist who has worked as . . Member

Vice-Chancellor  of  University

(c)  a Chartered  Accountant  of  repute who  is
a  Member  of  the  Institute  of  Chartered  Accountants
of India, for a period of not less than ten years

. . Member

(d) a Cost Accountant of repute who is a

. . Member

Member of the Institute of Cost and Works
Accountants of India for a period of not less
than ten years, or a financial expert of repute

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

9

(e) an expert of repute from the field of

. . Member

Professional  Education

(f) the  Registrar, Maharashtra  University of

. . Member

Health  Sciences,  Nashik

(g)  the  Director  of  Technical  Education

(h)  the  Director  of  Higher  Education

. . Member

. . Member

(i) the  Member-Secretary of  the Maharashtra

. . Member

Council  of  Agricultural  Education  and  Research

(j) an Officer of the State Government not

. . Secretary.

below  the rank  of Joint  Secretary.

(4) The Chairperson and of members under clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) and

(e) of sub-section (3) shall be appointed by the Government.

(5) No  person  who  is  associated  with  any  private  aided  or  unaided
Professional  Educational  Institution  shall  be  eligible  for  being  a  member  of
the  Fees  Regulating  Authority.

(6) A  Member  of  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  shall  cease  to  be  so,  if
he does any act which in the opinion of the State Government is unbecoming
of a member of the Authority.

(7) The  Chairperson  shall  preside  over  the  meeting  of  the  Fees
Regulating  Authority  and  the  Authority  may  adopt  its  own  procedure,  by
regulations as it may deem fit.

(8) No  act  or  proceeding  of  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  shall  be
deemed to be invalid by reason merely of any vacancy in, or any defect in the
constitution  thereof.

12. The provisions of section 8 shall mutatis mutandis apply in respect
of the term of Office and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and members
of  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority.

Mah.  VI
of  1988.

13.

(1) The  Fees  Regulating  Authority  shall  perform  the  following

functions,  namely :—

(i) to  determine  the  reasonableness  of  fees  levied  by  unaided
institutions  on  the  basis  of  the  factors  specified  in  section  15;  and  to
verify  whether  the  fees  so  levied  does  not  amount  to  profiteering  or
charging of capitation fees within the meaning of clause (a) of section 2
of  the  Maharashtra  Educational  Institutions  (Prohibition  of  Capitation
Fees) Act, 1987 ;

(ii) scrutiny  and  verification  of  fee  proposals  of  the  unaided

institutions  and  final  approval  thereof ;

(iii) to  evolve  the  mechanism  for  verification  of  infrastructure
facilities and amenities and to undertake the verification of such facilities
and  amenities ;

(iv) to  undertake  research  studies,  at  such  intervals  as  the  Fees
Regulating  Authority  may  deem  fit,  for  determining  the  professional
coursewise  expenses  required  to  be  made  per  student,  for  the  unaided

¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö-94---3+

Term  of
Office  and
Conditions  of
Services  of
Chairperson
and  members
of  Fees
Regulating
Authority.

Functions,
powers  and
procedure of
Fees
Regulating
Authority.

10

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

institutions  in  accordance  with  the  mandatory  guidelines  of  the
appropriate  authority  concerned;  and

  (v) to  undertake  measures  for  the  redressal  of  grievances  of  the

Stake-holders.

(2) In  the  discharge  of  its  functions  under  sub-section  (1),  the  Fees

Regulating  Authority  shall  have  the  following  powers,  namely:—

(i) scrutiny  and  verification  of  ‘ fee  proposals ’  and  final  approval

thereof ;

(ii) to evolve mechanism for verification of infrastructure facilities,

amenities  and  verification  thereof  in  unaided  institutions;

(iii) redressal  of  grievances  of  the  Stake-holders.

(3) Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  sub-sections  (1)  and  (2)  the
Shulka  Niyanttran  Samiti existing  on  to  the  date  of  commencemnet  of  this
Act  shall  continue  to  exercise  the  powers  of  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority
till  such  Authority  is  duly  constituted  under  this  Act.

(4) In the discharge of its functions, and, for the purpose of making any
inquiry under this Act, the Fees Regulating Authority shall have all powers
of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 while trying a suit, in
respect  of  the  following  matters,  namely :  —

5  of
1908.

(i) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and

examining him on oath ;

(ii) the  discovery  and  production  of  any  document;

(iii) the  reception  of  evidence  on  affidavits;

(iv) the  issue of  commission  for the  examination  of the  witness.

(5) The Fees Regulating Authority may constitute an enquiry committee
of  officers  to  verify  the  infrastructure  facilities  and  amenities  provided  by
the  institutions  as  against  the  fee  recovered  from  the  students.

14.

(1) In  determining  the  reasonableness  of  fee  structure,  the

following  provisions  shall  apply :—

(a) the  Management  of  the  Unaided  Institution  shall  submit  the
details  of  the  proposed  fee  alongwith  the  audited  accounts  of  the
preceding  financial  year,  the  proposed  budget  in  respect  of  the  current
financial  year  and  the  relevant  record  and  evidence  to  the  Fees
Regulating  Authority  for  its  approval  not  later  than  31st  October  of
previous  academic  year;

(b) in  the  event  of  non-submission  of  proposal  for  upward  revision
of fees  to the Fees Regulating  Authority within the  time-limit specified
by  the  Authority,  the  fees  structure  as  approved  by  the  Authority  and
applicable  during  the  previous  academic  year  shall  continue  to  apply;

(c) the Fees Regulating Authority shall establish a separate scrutiny

cell  for  the  scrutiny  of  proposals  submitted;

(d) after  considering  all  the  relevant  factors,  the  Fees  Regulating
Authority  shall  approve  the  fees  within  a  period  of  one  hundred  and
twenty  days  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  the  details  of  the  proposed  fee
and  communicate  the  details of  the  fee  so  approved;

(e) if  the  fee  approved  by  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  is  not
acceptable to the unaided institution, it may file review application with
detail  reasoning  before  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  for  reviewing  its
decision, within fifteen days from the date of communication. It shall be
mandatory  for  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  to  decide  such  review

Procedure  to
be  adopted  by
Fees
Regulating
Authority.

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

11

application before the 31st March of  every year and shall communicate
its  decision  to  the  concerned  institution  accordingly;

(f) the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  may  prescribe  its  procedure
regarding  scrutiny  of  fee  proposals  and  grievance  redressal  mechanism
as it deem fit.
(2) Pending  the  decision  of  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority,  the
management shall be at liberty to collect the interim or adhoc fee as the case
may be, till the final determination for the particular academic year.

(3)  The  Fees  Regulating  Authority  shall  indicate  the  different  heads

under which the fees may be levied.

(4) Every  unaided  institution  shall  display  on  its  notice  board,  the
course-wise  fees  as  approved  by  the  Fees  Regulating  Authority  and  on  its
website in Marathi and English, provided that, in case of linguistic minority
institutions,  the  display  shall  also  be  in  the  language  of  the  minority  to
which  such,  institution  belongs  and  shall  be  binding  on  the  students  and
the  institution.

(5) No institution shall collect fee amounting to more than one year fee
from a candidate in an academic year and collection of fees for more than one
year  in  an  academic  year  shall  be  construed  as  collection  of  capitation  fee
and such institution shall be  liable to be proceeded against.

(6) The  fees  approved  and  communicated  by  the  Fees  Regulating
Authority shall be  applicable in respect of  the candidate who is  admitted to
the unaided institution in that academic year and shall not be revised till the
completion  of  the  course  of  such  student  in  the  concerned  institution:

Provided  that,  an  unaided  institution  may,  with  the  prior  approval  of
the  Fees  Regulating  Authority,  revise  the  fees  in  respect  of  the  second  or
subsequent years, on the grounds such as revision in taxes, sudden revision
in  regular  expenditure,  etc.

15. The Fees Regulating Authority shall determine the reasonableness
of the fee structure proposed by every unaided institution, in respect of each
professional  course  or  group  of  courses,  considering  following  factors :—

Factors  for
determination
of  fee
structure.

(i) the  location (Urban  or  Rural)  of the  institution;
(ii) the cost of land and building ;
(iii) minimum  mandatorily  required  infrastructure  or  facilities,  as

specified  by  the  appropriate  authority ;

(iv) the  expenditure  proposed  or  incurred  on  the  facilities  and
amenities that are not mandatory as per the guidelines of the appropriate
authority ;

(v) available number of qualified regularly appointed teaching and
non-teaching  staff  as  per  the  prescribed  norms  of  the  appropriate
authority ;

(vi) expenses  on  the  prescribed  salaries  of  the  teaching  and

non-teaching  staff ;

(vii) the  expenditure  on  administration  and  the  maintenance;
(viii) the  reasonable  revenue  surplus  required  for  growth  and
development  of  the  institution  with  particular  reference  to  the
professional course conducted by it, which shall not be more than fifteen

12

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

per  cent.  of  educational  revenue  in  the  respective  professional  course
or  group  of  courses;

(ix) facilities provided by the Government, such as lease of land at
concessional  rates  and  use  of  its  infrastructure,  for  the  conduct  of  the
professional  courses;

(x)  depreciation  or  contribution  for  asset  replacement  fund;
(xi) rent  of  building  or  usage  charges;
(xii) incentives  for  quality  enhancement,  such  as—

(a) faculty  strength  with  Ph.  D.  qualifications  and  Research
publications  in  International  Journals  and  Patent  filed  by  the
institution;

(b) faculty  training  and  placement  of  students;
(c) accreditation  of  eligible  programmes  or  the  Institute  such

 as NBA, NABET, NAAC, etc.;

(xiii) rate  of  inflation;
(xiv) any  other  relevant  factor,  as  may  be  determined  by  the  Fees

Regulating  Authority.

Funds  of
Regulating
Authorities.

16.
Authority.

(1)  There  shall  be  a  separate  fund  of  each  of  the  Regulating

(2) The funds of the said authorities shall consist of,—

(i) process  fees  payable  by  a  Private  Professional  Educational

Institution;

(ii) interest  on  deposits;
(iii) grants  from  the  State  Government,  Central  Government  and

the  University Grants  Commission and  other  Institutions (if  any).
(3) The  Regulating  Authorities  may  charge  process  fee  for  conduct  of
CET  and  charges  for  fixation  of  fees,  etc.,  as  may  be  decided  from  time  to
time by the said authorities. The process fee for each year may be decided by
the concerned authorities considering their day to day expenditure including
salaries,  allowances,  administrative  expenses,  honorarium,  infrastructural
needs and any other activity in pursuance of its function, etc.

(4) The  concerned  authorities  shall  open  separate  bank  account  in

nationalized  bank  and  meet  their  expenses  from  the  receipts.

CHAPTER  V

ACCOUNTS AND MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS OF AUTHORITIES

Maintenance
of  Accounts.

Audit.

17. The Regulating Authorities shall maintain their respective accounts

in such form as may be prescribed.

18. The Accounts of the Regulating Authorities shall be audited every
year by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the report thereof
shall  be  placed  before  both  Houses  of  the  State  Legislature  in  the  session
immediately  held  thereafter.

Report  of
activities  of
Regulating
Authorities.

19. The  Regulating  Authorities  shall,  in  such  form  and  within  such
time  as  may  be  prescribed,  submit  its  report  annually  in  respect  of  its
activities in the previous financial year to the State Government. The State
Government  shall  cause  such  report  to  be  placed  before  each  House  of  the
State  Legislature  in  the  session  held  immediately  thereafter.

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

13

CHAPTER  VI

PENALTIES

20.

(1) The Regulating Authority if, of the opinion that any person has
contravened any  of the  provisions of  this Act  or the  rules made  thereunder,
may direct such person to pay a penalty—

Penalties.

(a) for the first contravention, which shall not be less than one lakh
rupees  but  which  may  extend  to  five  lakh  rupees  or  twice  the  amount
taken  in  excess  of  the  fee  as  determined  under  this  Act,  whichever  is
higher;

(b) for  the  second  or  subsequent  contravention,  which  shall  not  be
less  than  two  lakh  rupees  but  which  may  extend  to  ten  lakh  rupees  or
twice  the  amount  taken  in  excess  of  the  fee  as  determined  under  this
Act,  whichever  is  higher.
(2)  Whoever,  provides  incorrect  information,  fabricated  and  fake  books
of  accounts,  fraudulent  documents,  and  such  other  evidence  etc.,  to  the
authorities, whether or not the act is done for profit or gain, is said to have
committed an offence and shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to six months.

(3) The  offence  under  sub-section  (2)  shall  be  cognizable.

(4) If  during  the  course  of  enquiry  under  this  section,  it  is  found  that
the  unaided  institution  has  charged  the  fees  in  excess  of  those  approved  by
the  Authority;  such  fees  shall  be  returned  to  the  concerned  student.

(5) On  repetition  of  contravention  or  irregularity,  the  name  of  the
institution shall be recommended for the withdrawal of affiliation or approval
from  concerned  authority.

(6) Where  the  offence  or  irregularity  under  this  Act  or  rules  made
thereunder  is committed  by  a Management,  every  person  designated by  the
management, from such management, for the purpose, who, at the time when
the offence or irregularity was committed, was in charge of, and responsible
to,  the  management  for  the  conduct  of  the  business  of  the  management,  as
well as the management, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall
be  proceeded  against  and  punished  accordingly:

Provided  that,  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any
person  liable  to  punishment,  if  he  proves  that  the  offence  was  committed
without  his  knowledge  or  that  he  has  taken  due  diligence  to  prevent  the
commission  of  such  offence.

(7) Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  sub-section  (6),  where  any
offence under this Act or the rules made thereunder has been committed by
a management and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the
consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of any
office bearer, officer or servant, such office bearer, officer or servant concerned
shall  also  be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  that  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be
proceeded  against  and  punished  accordingly.

CHAPTER  VII
MISCELLANEOUS

21. No  suit,  prosecution  or  other  legal  proceedings  shall  lie  against
any authority or  employees working in the office of  authorities for anything
done  or  purported  to  have  been  done  in  good  faith  in  pursuance  of  the
provisions  of  this  Act  or  rules  and  regulations  made  thereunder.

Protection  of
action  taken
in  good  faith.

14

Power  of  State
Government
to  issue
directions.

¨É½þÉ®úÉ¹]Åõ ¶ÉÉºÉxÉ ®úÉVÉ{ÉjÉ +ºÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ ¦ÉÉMÉ +É`ö, +ÉìMÉº]õ 17, 2015/¸ÉÉ´ÉhÉ 26, ¶ÉEäò 1937

22. The State Government may issue such general or special directions
to  the  Regulating  Authorities,  consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act
and the rules made thereunder, as in its opinion are necessary or expedient
for  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  this  Act  or  for  giving  effect  to  any  of  the
provisions  contained  therein  or  in  any  rules  or  orders  made  thereunder.

Power  to
make  rules.

23.

(1) The  State  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the Official

Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be, after
it is made, before each House of the State Legislature, while it is in session
for  a  total  period  of  thirty  days,  which  may  be  comprised  in  one  session  or
two  or  more  successive  sessions,  and  if,  before  the  expiry  of  the  session  in
which  it  is  so  laid  or  the  session  or  sessions  immediately  following,  both
Houses  agree  in  making  any  modification  in  the  rule  or  both  Houses  agree
that  the  rule  should  not  be  made,  and  notify  their  decision  to  that  effect  in
the Official Gazette, the rule shall from the date of publication of such decision
in  the Official  Gazette,  have  effect  only  in  such  modified  form,  or  be  of  no
effect,  as  the  case  may  be;  so,  however,  that  any  such  modification,  or
annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  validity  of  anything  previously
done or  omitted to be  done under  that rule.

Power  to
make
regulations.

24. The  Regulating  Authorities  may,  for  performing  their  functions
under  this  Act,  make  regulations  consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act
and  the  Rules  made  thereunder.

Power  to
remove
difficulty.

25.

(1)  If  any  difficulty  arises  in  giving  effect  to  the  provisions  of  this
Act, the State Government may, as occasion arises, by an order published in
the Official Gazette, do anything not inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act,  which  appears  to  it  to  be  necessary  or  expedient  for  removing  the
difficulty:

Provided  that,  no  such  order  shall  be  made  after  expiry  of  a  period  of

two years from the date of commencement of this Act.

(2) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall be laid, as soon as may

be, after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature.

Repeal  of
Mah.  Ord.  VII
of  2015  and
saving.

26.

(1)  The  Maharashtra  Unaided  Private  Professional  Educational
Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Ordinance, 2015, is hereby
repealed.

Mah.
Ord.  VII
of  2015.

(2) Notwithstanding  such  repeal,  anything  done  or  any  action  taken
(including  any  notification  or  order  issued)  under  the  corresponding
provisions  of  the said  Ordinance,  shall  be  deemed  to have  been  done,  taken
or issued, as the case may be, under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

ON  BEHALF  OF  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING,  STATIONERY  AND  PUBLICATION,  PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY    SHRI  PARSHURAM  JAGANNATH  GOSAVI,  PRINTED

AT GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS, 21-A, NETAJI SUBHASH ROAD, CHARNI ROAD, MUMBAI 400 004 AND PUBLISHED AT DIRECTORATE OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING,

STATIONERY  AND  PUBLICATION,  21-A,  NETAJI  SUBHASH ROAD,  CHARNI  ROAD,  MUMBAI  400  004,  EDITOR  :  SHRI  PARSHURAM  JAGANNATH  GOSAVI.

