“The Akshaya Centres are service centres. Akshaya Centres cannot be treated as business centres, enabling the franchisees to run the centre with profit motive alone.” With this remark, the Kerala High Court drew a firm line between the public-service character of Akshaya Centres and the commercial interests of their operators, while deciding writ petitions filed by associations of Akshaya entrepreneurs against a government order fixing service charges for K-Smart services.
The Forum of Akshaya Centre Entrepreneurs and the All Kerala Akshaya Entrepreneurs Confederation had approached the Court challenging the Government Order, which prescribed the service charges payable at Akshaya Centres. The petitioners argued that the rates, pegged at levels comparable to those fixed years earlier, were arbitrary and financially unviable. They stressed that each entrepreneur invests between Rs.10 to Rs.15 lakh in infrastructure without financial assistance from the State, and that the earlier benefit of per-page charges for scanning and data entry had been withdrawn. They also contended that the order was issued without consultation, despite earlier assurances that entrepreneurs’ views would be considered before finalising rates.
Justice N. Nagaresh rejected the arguments, holding that the character of Akshaya Centres is rooted in public service. The Court observed that “the Akshaya Centres are intended to serve the common man. The Centres intended to connect the general public with government services, which otherwise are to be provided by the Government to citizens without levying service charges. The Centres are intended to make good the issue of digital illiteracy and digital divide among the general public.”
The Court made it clear that entrepreneurs cannot dictate terms to the State on matters of service charges. “The relationship between the petitioners and the Government is purely contractual. The petitioners have the right to accept the terms of the contract or quit,” it remarked. It further held that the entrepreneurs have “no statutory or other right to demand or dictate service to be levied from the general public for availing essential services.”
The Court, therefore, held that the entrepreneurs are bound by the contractual terms governing the operation of Akshaya Centres and that the authority to fix service charges lies solely with the Government, leading to the dismissal of the writ petitions.
Case Title: Forum of Akshaya Centre Entrepreneurs and Anr. Vs. State Of Kerala and Ors.
Case No: WP(C) NO. 29740 oF 2025
Coram: Justice N. Nagaresh
Advocate for Petitioner: Advs. Manas P Hameed, Ipsita Ojal, Ardra P., Amaljith
Advocate for Respondent: Government Pleader Rajeev Jyothish George
Picture Source : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kerala_New_High_Court.jpg