New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow (Feb 16, 2004) a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Union HRD Ministry's decision to drastically reduce the fee structure of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

The PIL filed by advocate Sandeep Parekh and two IIM graduates - Saiket Sengupta and Anish Mathew - has requested the apex court to strike down the February 5 decision of the Government to reduce the fee structure saying this was a blatant attempt to gain control over these professional institutions.

The Ministry had decided to drastically reduce the fees for the post-graduate programmes in the IIMs to Rs 30,000 per annum from around Rs 1.50 lakh per annum.

The Ministry had said that this decision has been taken after considering the recent Supreme Court order and the recommendations of the U R Rao Review Committee which went into the issue.

The petitioners have said the Government had gradually reduced the subsidy given to the IIMs from 1992 onwards on the basis of the Kurien Committee recommendations with a view to give more autonomy to these professional bodies.

The present move was taken without taking into account the cash inflow-outflow scenario of these institutions and without hearing the stakeholders of the society governing the IIMs, they alleged.