Quick answer
No. In Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (1992), the Supreme Court held that charging a capitation fee (an extra payment demanded for admission, beyond the lawful fee) is arbitrary, violates Article 14 and is not permissible in law. The Court also read a right to education into the right to life with dignity under Article 21. Its broad view that education at all levels is a fundamental right was narrowed in Unni Krishnan (1993) to free education for children up to 14 years, which is now guaranteed by Article 21A.
The case
Miss Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka, (1992) 3 SCC 666, AIR 1992 SC 1858, Supreme Court of India, 30 July 1992, two judges (Kuldip Singh and R.M. Sahai, JJ.; opinion by Kuldip Singh, J.). A Karnataka notification of 5 June 1989, issued under the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1984, let private medical colleges charge Rs 2,000 a year for "Government seats", up to Rs 25,000 for other Karnataka students and up to Rs 60,000 for students from outside Karnataka. Mohini Jain, from outside the State, was asked to pay Rs 60,000 and was refused admission when her family could not pay. The Court held the higher fees to be capitation fees in another name and quashed those parts of the notification.
Key holdings
- Right to education: though not listed as a fundamental right, the right to education flows from Article 21, read with Directive Principles in Articles 38, 39(a) and (f), 41 and 45. The Court said every citizen has a "right to education" under the Constitution.
- Capitation fee is illegal: the Court called it "nothing but a price for selling education". It lets richer but less meritorious students take seats from poorer, more meritorious ones, so it is arbitrary under Article 14.
- Merit as the basis: admission must be on merit, not on the capacity to pay.
- Limited relief: the ruling applied prospectively. Mohini Jain herself got no admission, as she had not been selected on merit and the course had begun.
How the law developed
| Stage | Position on right to education |
|---|---|
| Mohini Jain (1992, two judges) | Right to education flows from Article 21; broad statement covering education generally |
| Unni Krishnan (1993, five judges) | Agreed the right flows from Article 21, but limited it: free education until 14 years; beyond that, subject to the State's economic capacity (Article 41). Mohini Jain overruled to the extent it went further |
| T.M.A. Pai Foundation (2002, eleven judges) | Unni Krishnan's scheme on admission and fee-fixing held not correct; private unaided institutions still cannot charge capitation fee |
| Article 21A (86th Amendment, 2002) | Free and compulsory education for all children aged 6 to 14, in the manner the State determines by law; the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 came into force on 1 April 2010 |
Zoya clears the merit list for an MBBS seat in a private college. The college says she will get the seat only if she pays Rs 10 lakh as a "development donation" on top of the approved fee. This is a capitation fee. Following Mohini Jain and T.M.A. Pai Foundation, the demand is unlawful, and admission must follow merit and the lawful fee structure.
Current law note
Do not quote Mohini Jain as saying that every level of education is a fundamental right; that part was overruled in Unni Krishnan. Its rule against capitation fees and its link between education and dignity remain good law. For the later law on fee regulation in private professional colleges, see P.A. Inamdar v. State of Maharashtra.
Exam point
Mohini Jain (1992): capitation fee is arbitrary and violates Article 14, and the right to education flows from Article 21; Unni Krishnan (1993) limited the fundamental right to free education up to age 14, now Article 21A.
Sources and further reading
- Miss Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (30 July 1992), judgment text, Indian Kanoon
- Unni Krishnan, J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh (4 February 1993), Indian Kanoon
- T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (31 October 2002), Indian Kanoon
- Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India (12 April 2012), Indian Kanoon
