Bhujbal trust co-founder seeks audit of his Nashik institute

Chairman of Mumbai Education Trust (MET) run by PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal, has sought an independent audit of Bhujbal Knowledge City in Nashik for allegedly defrauding students into paying excess fees worth Rs 8 crores in just two years since 2010.
MET Co-founder Sunil Karve's lawyers sought this before a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha which was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by social activist Balasaheb Jambulkar, seeking an inquiry by the charity commissioner against the Bhujbal Knowledge City in Nashik.
The PIL alleges that Bhujbal and MET institute defrauded the Shikshan Shulk Samiti - the government committee that sets fees for private professional institutes.

It has demanded quashing of the fees, returning excess amounts to students, suspending the trustees and appointing an administrator.
The committee fixes fees based on valid and permitted educational expenses actually incurred by privately run institutes in the previous accounting year.
The PIL alleges that the trust running four Nashik institutes of management, polytechnic, engineering and pharmacy "fraudulently" showed inflated amounts as expenses, when there were none. The trust thus misled the committee into fixing "higher" fees.

Karve had earlier filed a petition seeking CBI inquiry against Bhujbal and his family including his son and nephew for alleged misappropriation of funds and misuse of property of MET to the tune of Rs 177 crore.

"The charity commissioner may not be in a position to finish inquiry against the Bhujbal Knowledge City expeditiously. It would be better if an independent authority is handed over the audit," advocates Rizwan Merchant and Sayaji Nagare appearing for Karve sought earlier this week.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on August 21.
According to Jambulkar's PIL, the Bhujbal Knowledge City showed over Rs 4.6 crore allegedly not related to management courses as expenses between 2010-12 for its Institute of Management, resulting in fees of Rs 1.15 lakh in 2011-12 instead of Rs 83,000.