The Supreme Court on Thursday said private universities must serve the larger public purpose of education and not operate for profit, directing states and Union territories to submit audited accounts detailing their surplus income, expenditure, fee collection and employee salaries, along with information on admissions, recruitment and teaching standards in six weeks.
We make it clear that no private university shall be run as a profit-making institution. It must serve the larger public purpose of education,” as it issued a slew of directions for the states and UTs to comply with. The orders were passed in a matter concerning Amity University, where a student was harassed for seeking a change of name in college records. The universities will be required to state all benefits and privileges received from the Centre or state governments with regard to the allotment of land or legal exemptions. The court also focused on admission procedures and the academic quality imparted in these universities, seeking details of the persons responsible for admissions, setting question papers, evaluating answer sheets, and the role of management in these functions. The order further required details of the teaching hours assigned to teachers over the past year and the actual classes taken by them. These authorities were further directed to point out the deficiencies they noted during inspections and whether the same had been rectified by the university or institution concerned.
Justifying this direction, the court said, “We wish to know if some alternate arrangement was made so that students do not suffer.
The bench of justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and NV Anjaria said, “It is for the public at large that the system operates, especially in matters concerning education. Taking up the matter last year, the court passed sweeping orders in November 2025, directing states and UTs to provide details of how the universities were created, the benefits extended to them, and the regulatory framework to ensure they adhere to a “no profit no loss” mandate. On Thursday, the court felt the need to issue further orders, saying, “These institutions cannot be allowed to operate as an industry for profiteering alone,” as it directed states and UTs to provide details of fees collected from students at the time of admission and during the tenure of the course under various heads, the boards responsible for recruiting teaching and non-teaching staff, their salaries and emoluments, and their service conditions. It said, “The states/UTs shall ensure all universities submit audited reports with regard to funds generated, their utilisation, and payments made to individuals who may not be directly related to functioning of the university.
The court was also assisted by a committee headed by IPS officer and former J&K DGP Ashok Prasad, who was asked to conduct a preliminary inquiry into what transpired with the petitioner and collect evidence by getting in touch with Amity University. The court issued a blanket order asking the university and all authorities concerned to cooperate with the probe and directed that the final report be submitted by the next date of hearing.
Prasad told the court that despite several reminders, several witnesses were not coming forward to depose.
