The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has informed the Bombay High Court that the Indian Law Society's (ILS) Law College proposed charging students over ₹1.12 crore under the head of Moot Court Fees, despite having incurred an actual expenditure of only ₹1.98 lakh on the activity.

The submissions were made before a Division Bench of Justices R.I. Chagla and Farhan Dubash in response to a petition filed by ILS and its Law College challenging SPPU's decision to reduce the institution's "other fees" from approximately ₹37,000 to ₹4,340 for the academic year 2026-27.

According to documents placed before the Court by SPPU and its Fee Fixation Committee (FFC), ILS proposed charging ₹7,000 per student as Moot Court Fees. With an intake of around 1,600 students, the college would have collected more than ₹1.12 crore under this head, while the actual expenditure reflected in records was only ₹1.98 lakh.

The FFC also highlighted several other discrepancies. Under the Seminar and Conference Fee head, the college reportedly spent ₹14.52 lakh but proposed charging ₹3,000 per student, which would generate approximately ₹48 lakh. Similarly, for Training and Placement activities, the actual expenditure was ₹5.32 lakh, whereas the proposed fee structure would have resulted in collections of ₹64 lakh. For the Abhivyakti Law Journal, the college spent ₹3.40 lakh but sought to collect ₹15.84 lakh from students.

SPPU further alleged that ILS failed to disclose material facts before the High Court. According to the University, the college's petition omitted the fact that it had submitted a written explanation to the Fee Fixation Committee regarding the discrepancies identified in its accounts. The University stated that while the explanation was sought in June 2024, it was submitted nearly 11 months later in June 2025.

In its explanation, ILS contended that the ₹1.98 lakh figure represented only direct financial assistance provided to students participating in external moot court competitions and that the total expenditure on moot court-related activities was actually ₹10.07 lakh. However, SPPU argued that even on the basis of the college's own figures, the proposed collection of ₹1.12 crore remained disproportionately high.

The Fee Fixation Committee also questioned several accounting practices adopted by the college, including the treatment of government salary grants, a 20% depreciation rate on assets, and an incentive component of ₹4,799 per student that allegedly did not appear in audited financial statements.

After considering ILS's written explanation, the FFC fixed the "other fees" at ₹4,340 per student on April 6, 2026. The decision was communicated to the college on April 30, 2026. ILS subsequently rejected the decision and approached the High Court.

SPPU has argued that under Section 101(7) of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016, the Fee Fixation Committee's determination is final and binding. The University has therefore sought dismissal of the writ petition with costs.

The Bombay High Court has declined the college's request for interim relief permitting it to continue charging the pre-reduction fees and has scheduled the matter for further hearing on June 29.