Gujarat High Court
Patel Mrugesh Ashvinbhai & 102 vs State Of Gujarat & 4 on 19 November, 2014
Author: K.M.Thaker
Bench: K.M.Thaker
C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4855 of 2014
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PATEL MRUGESH ASHVINBHAI & 102....Petitioner(s)
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & 4....Respondent(s)
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Appearance:
MR ANKIT SHAH, ADVOCATE for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 - 103
MR DM DEVNANI AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR DC DAVE, SR. COUNSEL, WITH MR PA JADEJA, ADVOCATE for the
Respondent(s) No. 4 - 5
MR VILAS G GOSWAMY, ADVOCATE for the Respondent(s) No. 3
NOTICE SERVED for the Respondent(s) No. 1 - 2
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE K.M.THAKER
Date : 19/11/2014
ORAL ORDER
Heard Mr. Shah, learned advocate for the petitioners, Mr. Devnani, learned AGP for the respondent - State, and Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel, with Mr. Jadeja, learned advocate for the respondent Nos.4 and 5.
2. In present petition, the petitioners have prayed, inter alia, that:-
"12(b) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction by quashing and setting aside the impugned action of the respondents for withholding the amount of Page 1 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER scholarship/stipend payable to the petitioners as being in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and against the principles of natural justice and further be pleased to direct the respondent No.5 to submit a necessary proposal to the respondent No.3 for releasing the amount of scholarship/stipend and further be pleased to declare that all the petitioners are entitled and eligible to get the amount of scholarship/stipend for M.Pharm courses and further be pleased to direct the respondents Nos.3 & 5 to release the amount of scholarship/stipend to the petitioners forthwith."
3. So as to support and justify the said request, the petitioners have averred, inter alia, that:-
"1. All the petitioners are the citizens of India and seek to challenge the legality and validity of the impugned action of the respondent for withholding the amount of scholarship per month legitimately payable to he petitioners since so many months, in violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and against the principle of natural justice, hence, requires to be quashed and set-aside in the interest of justice.
2. The petitioners most respectfully submit that the petitioner no.1 to 35 are students of current bench i.e. 2012-2014, whereas rest of the petitioner have completed their studies but, the Page 2 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER respondent No.5 college namely, L.M.College of Pharmacy has not paid the amount of scholarship/stipend per month at the rate of Rs.8,000/-. It is most respectfully submitted that the petitioner No.1 to 33 are students presently studying in M.Pharm Course i.e. Master of Pharmacy and they have got admission as per rules on 25.08.2011 and the course will be completed in July, 2014. Therefore, the petitioner no.1 to 33 are the students of M. Pharm Semester those who are currently studying in the same course and they all are entitled for the amount of scholarship per month i.e. Rs.8000/- w.e.f. Admission i.e. 25.08.2011. However, the respondents have not paid any amount of scholarship/stipend and withheld illegally. So far as the petitioner no.36 to 69 (i.e. students from the M. Pharm bench 2011-2013) and petitioner no.70 to 103 (i.e. students from the M. Pharm bench 2010-2012) is concerned, they have completed their M. Pharm course and all the students have not been paid the amount of scholarship/stipend for the period of 4 months (during the tenure of the course) at the rate of Rs.8000/- per month and accordingly, all the students have not been paid the amount of scholarship/stipend by the respondent No.5 college for the reasons best known to the respondent No.5 college. The copy of the list of students for different academic year is annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE-A. Further it is submitted that during the period of 2010-2013 Dr. M.C.Gohel and Dr. Anita A. Mehta was the Principal of respondent no.5 college.
Page 3 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER
3. The petitioners most respectfully submit that the respondent, The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE for short) was established by an Act of Parliament in the year 1987, for proper planning and coordinated development of Technical Education System throughout the country. AICTE helps promotion of qualitative improvements in Technical Education in relation to the planned quantitative growth and regulates proper maintenance of norms and standards and matters connected therewith. The Technical Education covers programmes of education, research and training in Engineering and Technology, Architecture, Town Planning, Management, Pharmacy, Applied Arts and Crafts and other related areas and accordingly the respondent Government of India, Ministry of Human Resources Department of Higher Education, New Delhi has revised the revision of scholarship/stipend w.e.f.
01.04.2008 and accordingly, Rs.8000/- per month would be paid to the students as Scholarship/Stipend and accordingly all the
petitioners and all the students as mentioned in cause title are entitled and eligible to get amount of scholarship/stipend i.e. Rs.8000/- w.e.f. Joining the course from 01.04.2008. Further it is stated that in the minutes of the 453 rd meeting of the University Grants Commission held on 06.11.2008 approved scholarship/stipend w.e.f.
01.04.2008 and accordingly, Rs.8000/- per month would be paid to the students as Scholarship/Stipend.....
5. The petitioners most respectfully submit that Page 4 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER few of the petitioner on behalf of everyone have submitted a representation jointly to the respondent No.4 & 5 i.e. Chair person of res. no.4 & Principal of L.M.College of Pharmacy res. no.5, where the petitioners have studied and some of the petitioners completed a course of M. Pharm while withholding the amount of Scholarship/Stipend on 22.03.2013. .... The petitioners further submit that a news regarding withholding of the scholarship/stipend for students who are studying in Master of Pharmacy have come and accordingly the students who are studying in Master of Pharmacy have not been paid the amount of scholarship/stipend. According to the said news, the officials of the respondent No.5 college has admitted the fact that the students have not been paid the amount of scholarship/stipend because they are expecting the necessary funds. The said news has appeared in various English and Gujarati newspapers. ... The petitioners further submit that, one of the petitioners have requested the respondent No.3 AICTE regarding the payment of amount of scholarship/stipend and also requested for certain information vide letter dated 18.08.2012. ... The respondent AICTE has informed the said person vide letter dated 29.11.2012, ... that the respondent No.5 L.M. College of Pharmacy has not submitted the required documents and proposal and therefore, the petitioners are without amount of scholarship/stipend for which all the petitioners are entitled and eligible to get the amount of scholarship/stipend at the rate of Rs.8000/- per month. The petitioners have waited up till date but no action has been taken Page 5 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER by the respondents for releasing the payment of scholarship/stipend and all the petitioners are suffering monetary hardship day by day for further study and, therefore, as there is no other efficacious and effective alternative remedy except to approach this Hon'ble Court by way of present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have filed the present petition.
6. The petitioners most respectfully submit that according to the provision made in the Gujarat Professional Technical Education Colleges and Institution Act, 2007, they got the regular admission to the Profession Graduate Courses in Master of Pharmacy and according to the letter dated 22.07.2008, as per Annexure-A all the petitioners are entitled for scholarship/stipend at the rate of Rs.8000/- per month. The petitioners waited till date but not only that those who have completed the Post Graduate Course of Pharmacy in that case the respondents have not paid the amount of the scholarship/stipend,but the respondent authority AICTE has given the reply as per Annexure-D, vide letter dated 29.11.2012 that L.M. College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad - 380 009, Gujarat has not submitted the required documents and proper proposal for the same. It is admitted fact that, there are disputes between AICTE and respondent No.4 L.M.College of Pharmacy regarding transaction of monetary affairs of submitting the accounts etc., and for that the petitioners who are students of M. Pharm are suffering without payment of scholarship/stipend. The petitioners Page 6 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER are innocent and there is no justifiable reason for withholding the said amount of scholarship/stipend and therefore, a strict view requires to be taken in the facts and circumstances of heart burning grievances of students of M. Pharm. Therefore, the respondent No.5 college is required to be directed to release the amount of scholarship/stipend to the petitioners and students without any further delay and/or the respondent AICTE is required to be directed to release the amount of scholarship/stipend by direct deposit in Nationalized Bank Account of the petitioners by granting appropriate order or interim relief as prayed for in the interest of justice.
7. That similarly situated students as that of petitioners approached this Hon'ble Court with similar prayer vide Special Civil Application No.8206 of 2013. That this Hon'ble Court after hearing parties was pleased to allow the petition thereby directing the respondents to deposit the outstanding dues and the petitioner should be allow to withdraw same. ..."
4. The sum and substance of the grievance of the petitioners is that the petitioners are entitled to stipend and that though the respondent No.5 college has received the amount (for disbursement to the students towards their stipend) from the respondent No.3, the respondent No.5 college has Page 7 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER failed to pay / disburse the stipend amount to the eligible students, i.e. the petitioners herein. According to the petitioners, each petitioner is entitled to Rs.8000/- p.m. towards stipend for two years, however, the petitioners are not paid this stipend amount for over long period of time. The details of the amount due towards stipend (and claimed by the petitioners) is placed on record by the petitioners by way of a separate statement, copy whereof is supplied to learned advocate for the respondent No.5.
5. Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel for the respondent No.5 did not dispute - rather admitted
- the petitioners' claim that they are not paid the stipend. He, however, submitted that, as such, there is no dispute so far as the details mentioned in the statement are concerned, however, if any discrepancy is noticed, then, the respondent No.5 will resolve the same with the concerned student/s.
With the aforesaid allegations, the Page 8 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER petitioners have preferred present petition.
6. Mr. Goswami, learned advocate for the respondent AICTE, submitted that so far as the respondent AICTE is concerned, it has released the entire amount payable towards stipend to the eligible petitioners, i.e. the concerned students of the respondent No.5 college. He submitted that the amount has been released in favour of, and forwarded to, the respondent No.5 college. Mr. Goswami, learned advocate for the respondent AICTE, further submitted that as soon as the respondent AICTE released the amount and forwarded the same to the respondent college, its obligation stood discharged, and thereafter, it was the duty and obligation of the respondent college to disburse the amount in question to the eligible students and for failure of the respondent college, the respondent AICTE is not responsible.
7. Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel, with Mr. Page 9 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER Jadeja, learned advocate for the respondent No.5, submitted that there was some misunderstanding at the end of the respondent No.5 college, inasmuch as the respondent No.5 college treated the amount received from respondent AICTE as salary granted and accordingly they used the amount for paying salary.
Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel, further submitted that the respondent No.5 college does not deny its obligation to pay the amount of stipend to the petitioners. Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel, stipulated, assured and promised that within short time, the respondent college will make the entire payment to all eligible student/s towards the stipend which they are entitled.
Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel, also submitted that the details of the due and payable amount, which is submitted by the petitioners under a separate statement, is by and large correct and acceptable to the respondent No.5 college and as such, there is no dispute so far Page 10 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER as the amount claimed by each of the petitioners is concerned.
8. Learned advocate for the petitioners submitted that since the respondent No.5 college admits its responsibility and the dues of the petitioners and since it is ready and willing to make the payment of the due amount to the petitioners, the petitioners do not want to carry the dispute further and their grievance would stand resolved when the amounts are paid to them.
9. In that view of the matter, the petition is disposed of with following directions, clarifications and observations.
[A] The respondent college shall take all necessary steps to make the payment to each of the concerned and eligible petitioners in respect of the stipend amount which is due and payable to the petitioners.
[B] The respondent college will ensure that the due and payable amount to each of the petitioners are paid within 15 days from the Page 11 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER receipt of certified copy of this order.
For the aforesaid purpose, the
petitioners or any one petitioner from
amongst all petitioners, is permitted to
serve a certified copy of this order to the respondent college.
[C] As soon as the payment is made /
disbursed amongst the petitioners, the
respondent college shall give necessary
intimation to the respondent AICTE by
separate communication and also to the
respondent - State.
[D] It is clarified that if there is any
delay in making payment to the petitioners or any petitioner, then, it will be open to the petitioner/s to take out appropriate application with requisite details. 9.1 Learned AGP for the respondent State as well as respondent AICTE also submitted that if the respondent college makes the payment to the petitioners within 15 days then at this stage the said respondents do not propose to or intend to take necessary further actions against the respondent college with regard to the default Page 12 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER committed by the respondent No.5 in disbursing the amount of stipend to the petitioners.
10. Mr. Dave, learned Senior Counsel for the respondent college, submitted that respondent college shall take all necessary steps and action, as may be required, for making payment to each of the petitioners within 15 days from receipt of certified copy of this order.
11. Mr. Shah, learned advocate for the petitioners, submitted that in view of the above statement by learned advocate for the respondent college and in view of the observations in the order, the grievance of the petitioners stand resolved.
In view of the said submission by learned advocate for the petitioners and in light of the stipulation and promise / undertaking by the learned Senior Counsel for the respondent college, this petition is disposed of with aforesaid observations and clarifications. Orders Page 13 C/SCA/4855/2014 ORDER accordingly.
(K.M.THAKER, J.) kdc Page 14