Section 24 of Central Universities Act, 2009 - Finance Committee

Updated legal overview

Section 24 of the Central Universities Act, 2009 deals with the Finance Committee of a Central University. The section does not itself set out the membership, detailed powers or working procedure of the Committee. Instead, it requires those matters to be prescribed by the Statutes governing the University.

Text and meaning of Section 24

In practical terms, Section 24 creates the statutory basis for the Finance Committee while leaving its detailed institutional design to the applicable University Statutes. Therefore, Section 24 should be read together with the relevant Statutes when determining who sits on a particular Central University's Finance Committee, how it functions and what financial matters fall within its authority.

What does "prescribed by the Statutes" mean?

The Act uses the Statutes as a principal form of subordinate institutional law for matters concerning University authorities and bodies. Section 26 of the Central Universities Act, 2009 authorises the Statutes, subject to the Act, to provide for matters including the constitution, powers and functions of University authorities and other bodies.

Accordingly, Section 24 is an enabling and framework provision. It identifies the Finance Committee as a University authority under the statutory scheme, while the operative details must be found in the Statutes applicable to the University concerned.

Role of the Finance Committee

The precise legal powers must be verified from the applicable Statutes. As a matter of university governance, a Finance Committee ordinarily provides institutional consideration of financial matters such as budgets, expenditure proposals, financial planning and related recommendations. These general descriptions should not be treated as a substitute for the powers actually conferred by the relevant Statutes.

Relationship with nearby provisions

Section 24 forms part of the Act's framework dealing with University authorities. It follows Section 23 on Boards of Studies and precedes Section 25 on other authorities of the University. The broader statutory power to prescribe matters through Statutes is contained in Section 26.

Official legal source

The Central Universities Act, 2009 is Act No. 25 of 2009 and was enacted on 20 March 2009. The current statutory text can be checked on the official India Code - Central Universities Act, 2009. The Ministry responsible for higher education also provides information concerning Central Universities.

Key point

Section 24 is concise but important: the Finance Committee exists within the statutory governance structure of a Central University, while its constitution, powers and functions are determined through the Statutes made under the Act. The applicable Statutes must therefore be examined before reaching a conclusion about the Committee's authority in a particular University.