Madhya Pradesh High Court
Tata College Jamodi Khurd Sidhi M.P. vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 3 May, 2017
WP-5976-2016
(ADHARSH GIRLS COLLEGE Vs THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH)
03-05-2017
Heard Shri J.K. Pillai, learned counsel for the petitioners-
institutions and Shri Girish Kekre, learned Government
Advocate for the respondent/State.
The petitioners/institutions are running colleges imparting various under graduate courses and according to the petitioners they being private educational institutions have also obtained approval of the fee structure prevailing in their colleges from the Higher Education Department including the fee that is to be charged by the petitioner-institutions from the schedule caste and schedule tribe students. It is submitted that the State Government has taken a policy decision to grant post-matric scholarship to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students and therefore, the State Government was bound to and is required to pay the entire fees charged by the petitioners/institutions from schedule castes and schedule tribes students to them but the respondent/State is not doing so and has infact infromed the petitioners that they would grant post matric scholarship to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students only to the extent of the fee prevailing in the government college. The learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners/institutions obtained approval of the fee structure from the competent authority of the higher education department and were under the impression that they would be getting full reimbursement of the fee charged by them from the schedule castes and schedule tribes students but the State instead of doing so is granting scholarship only to the extent of the fee prevailing in government colleges as a result of which the petitioners/ institutions are suffering great loss.
It is submitted that the State is rescinding from his promise of reimbursing the entire amount of fees and in such circumstances they being bound by the principle of promissory estoppel be directed to refund the entire fee to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students at the rate which is charged by the petitioners/ institutions. The respondent/State have filed a return and have stated that the State has taken a policy decision to grant post matric scholarship to schedule castes and schedule tribes students, however, under the said policy decision, the State has decided to pay an amount equal to the entire fee being charged in government colleges, excluding caution money and other amounts which are required to be refunded to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students as post matric scholarship.
It is submitted that in the policy decision latest policy decision Annexure R/1 dated 8/5/2012 it has clearly been stated that even in respect of those S.C./S.T. students who are studying in private educational institutions the maximum amount of post matric scholarship would be to the extent of the fees charged in Government colleges and no more. The learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondent/State submits that in such circumstances though the fee structure as submitted by the petitioners has been approved by the authorities of the State and the petitioners are free to charge the students including schedule castes and schedule tribes students fee at the rate approved by the authorities of the State. However, as far as the grant of post- matric scholarship to schedule castes and schedule tribes students is concerned, the same is limited to the amount of fees charged in government colleges excluding caution money and other refundable amounts and therefore, as far as the claim of the petitioners/institutions for granting post matric scholarship to the extent of the entire fee charged by the petitioners private institutions is concerned, the same is totally misconceived.
We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length. At the very outset it is noted that the present petitions have been filed by the private educational institutions and there is no policy decision or other provision which requires or entitles the institutions to claim disbursement of post matric scholarship which is otherwise available only to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students and therefore, the petitions filed by the institutions praying for a direction to the government to reimburse the post matric scholarship to the colleges is patently misconceived as no such relief can be granted to the petitioner institutions specifically in the absence of any such claim being made by the students concerned.
Quite apart from the above, it is also apparent from a perusal of the policy decision, which has been filed alongwith the return as Annexure R/1 that the post matric scholarship that is awarded to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students is limited to the extent of the entire fee charged in government institutions after deducting therefrom caution money and other refundable amounts, and that the schedule castes and schedule tribes students studying in non government institutions would also be entitled to post matric scholarship to that limited extent. The relevant Clause 6.4 of the policy decision of the State Government in this regard is reproduced below :-
Ã6-4 fu/kkZfjr vk;q lhek esa vkus okys fo|kfFkZ;ksa ds f'k{k.k 'kqYd dh izfriwfrZ 'kklu Onkjk dh tkrh gS A tks fdlh Hkh ikB~; dze ds fy;s 'kkldh; laLFkkvksa esa fy;s tkus oky lEiw.kZ f'k{k.k 'kqYd ¼Nk=ksa dks okfilh ;ksX; dk'ku euh vkfn dks NksM dj½ ds cjkcj gS A v'kkldh; laLFkkvksa esa v/;;ujr fo|kfFkZ;ksa dh f'k{k.k 'kqYd esa ;fn dksbZ vUrj dh jkf'k gS rks mUgsa Lo;a ogu djuh gksxh A v'kkldh;
laLFkkvksa ds fo|kfFkZ;ksa dks f'k{k.k 'kqYd dh izfriwfrZ 'kkldh; laLFkkvksa ds cjkcj dh tk;sxh AÃ In view of the aforesaid policy decision of the State Government, it is apparent that the contention of the petitioners institutions that reimbursement to schedule castes and schedule tribes students in respect of post-matric scholarship should be made to the extent of the entire fees charged by the private educational institutions is totally misconceived and is accordingly rejected.
At this stage, we think it necessary to clarify that the fixation of the fees to be charged by a private educational institutions has no bearing or relationship with the grant of post-matric scholarship to the schedule castes and schedule tribes students. To put it otherwise a private educational institutions after seeking approval can charge educational fees to the extent approved for schedule castes and schedule tribes students. However, as far as post matric scholarship is concerned, the students concerned belonging to the schedule castes and schedule tribes category would be entitled to scholarship only to the extent decided by the State which in the instant case is the fee charged for a similar course in government colleges and nothing more. The charge of fee by an educational institution and the grant of post matric scholarship by the government are two separate and distinct issues and have no co-relation between them.
This Court has considered similar contentions raised by SC/ST category of students in the case of Sushil Panwar and others Vs. State of M.P and others (W.P. No. 14870/2008) and has dismissed the petition by order dated 11.8.2016 and therefore, even otherwise the issue raised by the petitioner stands decided against them as the issue raised herein is squarely covered by the decision in the case of Sushil Panwar (Supra).
In view of the aforesaid, we do not find any merit in the petitions filed by the petitioners-institutions claiming for a direction to the respondent/State to reimburse the entire fee to schedule castes and schedule tribes students under the post matric scholarship scheme, and therefore, they are accordingly dismissed. There shall be no order to as costs.
(RAVI SHANKAR JHA) (ASHOK KUMAR JOSHI)
JUDGE JUDGE
a