Section 4 of The Afrc Act 2007 — Constitution, composition, disqualification and functions of Committee

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Official Legislative Text

(1)The State Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute a Committee to be called the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee, for the supervision and guidance of the admission process and for the fixation of fee to be charged from candidates seeking admission in a private professional educational institution.
(2)The Committee shall be presided by a Chairperson who has been a Vice-Chancellor of a Central University or a State University or an institution deemed to be University or a senior administrative officer not below the rank of Principal Secretary to the State Government or Joint Secretary to the Government of India and shall include four other members having expertise in matters of finance, administration or law, technical education and medical education.
(3)The term of the Committee shall be three years from the date of its notification and in case of any vacancy arising earlier, for any reason, the State Government shall fill such vacancy for the remainder of the term.
(4)No act or proceedings of the Committee shall be deemed to be invalid by reason merely of any vacancy or any defect in the constitution of the Committee.
(5)No person who is associated with a private aided or unaided educational institution shall be eligible for being a member of the Committee.
(6)The Chairperson or any member of the Committee shall cease to be so, if he performs any act, which in the opinion of the State Government is unbecoming of Chairperson or a member of the Committee.
(7)The Committee may frame its own procedure in accordance with the regulations notified by the State Government in this regard.
(8)The Committee may require a private aided or unaided professional educational institution or, a deemed University to furnish, by a prescribed date, information as may be necessary for enabling the Committee to determine the fee that may be charged by the institution in respect of each professional course, and the fee so determined shall be valid for such period as notified by the State Government.
(9)The Committee may hear complaints with regards to admission in contravention of the provisions contained herein, collecting of capitation fee or fee in excess of fee determined or profiteering by any institution, and if the Committee after enquiry finds that there has been any violation of the provisions for admission on the part of the unaided professional colleges or institution, it shall make appropriate recommendations for returning any excess amount collected to the person concerned, and also recommend to the Government for imposing a fine upto rupees ten lakhs, and the Government may on receipt of such recommendation, fix the fine and collect the same in the case of each such violation or decide any other course of action as it deem fit and the amount so fixed together with interest thereon shall be recovered as if it is an arrear of land revenue, and the committee may also declare admission made in respect of any or all seats in a particular college or institution to be dehors merit and therefore invalid and communicate the same to the concerned university, and on the receipt of such communication, the University shall debar such candidates from appearing in the examination and cancel the results of examination already appeared for;
(10)The Committee may, if satisfied that any unaided professional college or institution has violated any of the provision of this Act and after approval of the State Government, recommend to the University or appropriate authority for withdrawal of the affiliation or recognition of such college or institution or decide any other course of action as it deems fit.
(11)The Committee shall have the power to regulate its own procedure in all matters arising out of the discharge of its functions and shall for the purposes of making any enquiry under this Act have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely :,
1. (a)summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath; [Note: The remaining sub-sections of Section 4, specifically 11(b), 11(c), 11(d), and 12, are completely missing from the English text of the 2007 Act in the provided PDF. The English version of the 2007 Act in the scanned document terminates on page 794
(10)at sub-section 11(a) and does not contain any subsequent page for this Act before moving directly to the 2013 amendment.]

Educational Study Layer

Summary

This section directs the State Government to establish the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee to supervise admissions and fix fees in private professional institutions.
It dictates that the Committee is presided over by a Chairperson who must be a former Vice-Chancellor or a senior administrative officer (Principal Secretary to State Government or Joint Secretary to Government of India or above) and includes four expert members in finance, administration or law, technical education, and medical education.
It sets a strict term of three years for the Committee members and disqualifies anyone associated with a private aided or unaided educational institution from membership.
It empowers the Committee to inspect colleges, summon witnesses, demand documents, and hear complaints about illegal admissions, capitation fees, or profiteering.
It authorizes the Committee, upon finding a violation, to impose a fine of up to ten lakh rupees with 12 percent annual interest, invalidate unlawful admissions, order full refunds to students, halt or reduce a college's intake, and recommend loss of affiliation.

Practical examples

1The State Government plans to appoint Ramesh, who is currently the managing trustee of a private engineering college in Indore, to the regulatory committee on 10th August, 2026. When the draft notification is reviewed, the legal department blocks the appointment under Section 4(5) of the Act because Ramesh is associated with a private educational institution, making him ineligible to serve as a member of the Committee.

2A private medical college in Gwalior charges an extra 3,00,000 rupees above the officially determined fee. Following a complaint, the Committee conducts an enquiry and on 10th August, 2026, issues an order under Section 4(9) of the Act imposing a fine of 8,00,000 rupees on the college and directing them to refund the excess amount to the student with 12 percent interest. When the college fails to pay, the Committee initiates recovery proceedings to collect the fine as an arrear of land revenue.

FAQ

1. Who can be appointed as the Chairperson of the Committee under Section 4 of this Act?

Under Section 4(2) of this Act, the Chairperson must be a person who has been a Vice-Chancellor of a Central University, a State University, or a deemed-to-be university, or a senior administrative officer not below the rank of Principal Secretary to the State Government or Joint Secretary to the Government of India.

2. What is the official term of office for Committee members under Section 4 of this Act?

Under Section 4(3) of this Act, the term of office for the Chairperson and members of the Committee is three years from the date of its notification in the official Gazette.

3. Can a person working at a private college serve on the Committee under Section 4 of this Act?

No, under Section 4(5) of this Act, any person who is associated with a private aided or unaided educational institution is strictly ineligible to be a member of the Committee.

4. What legal powers does the Committee have to conduct enquiries under Section 4 of this Act?

Under Section 4(11) of this Act, the Committee has all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which includes summoning witnesses, enforcing their attendance, examining them on oath, and requiring the discovery and production of documents.

5. What is the maximum fine the Committee can impose on an institution for violations under Section 4 of this Act?

Under Section 4(9)(c)(i) of this Act, the Committee can impose a fine of up to ten lakh rupees on the institution, along with interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum.

Practice Quiz

Q1.A vacancy arises in the Committee when one of the four expert members resigns after just one year of service. The State Government appoints a replacement. Under Section 4 of this Act, how long is this new member's term?

Q2.During an investigation into an illegal fee complaint, a private college refuses to produce its financial ledgers to the Committee, claiming only a regular court can force them to do so. Under Section 4 of this Act, is the college's refusal legally sustainable?

Q3.A private college is found to have admitted fifteen students in direct violation of the merit-based criteria. The Committee decides to declare these admissions invalid and orders the university to cancel their enrollments. Under Section 4 of this Act, does the Committee have this power?

Q4.A member of the Committee is found to have accepted a bribe from a college director. The State Government immediately removes him from the Committee. Under Section 4 of this Act, what is the legal standard for this removal?

Q5.An institution fails to refund an excess fee of 50,000 rupees to a student within the time specified by the Committee's order. Under Section 4 of this Act, how is this money recovered?

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