Payment of fees must be as per what is notified to Ph.D scholars

Shaunak Choudhury | SVKM’s NMIMS Kirit P. Mehta School of Law | 5^th June 2020

Rahul O.R. v. Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (WRIT PETITION (C) No. 379  of 2018 (V)) 

Facts

The writ petition in this case was filed by Ph. D scholars belonging to the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, i.e. the first respondent. The scholars joined the institute between 2013 and 2015. The petition was filed due to the circular issued by Respondent 1 in 2017 which required the Ph. D scholars to pay a sum of Rs. 12500/- as fees of the semester. The Petitioners argued that as per the University Grants Commission (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2016 and the memorandum of association of Respondent 1, the they were required to pay only admission fees and hostel fees. The admission notification of the university did not mention any fees either thus the students that entered the institute prior to the issuing of the 2017 circular should be exempt from paying any fees. The Respondents claimed that the Petitioners had full information regarding the fees since it was displayed on the university website. The University Grants Commission which was Respondent 2 argued that the 2016 Regulations is silent on the fees that Deemed to be Universities can impose and that the UGC cannot fix the fees. 

Issues 

• Whether Respondent 1 can impose the fee on the Petitioners.

Judgement

As per the UGC Student Entitlement Guidelines 2007 and the 2016 Regulations, information regarding amount, components, frequency, and mode of any kind of payment including fees or charges of any kind and refund rules are liable to be informed to the applicants. The UGC Student Entitlement Guidelines 2007 lays down this rule under the heading of Admissions in point 1.2 which mandates that students should be made aware of the fees structure and other details through the Prospectus that the university provides. The 2016 Regulations lay down a similar obligation in clause 6.5 sub clause (i). 

The Petitioners entered the institute with the information given to them through the Admission Notifications for Ph. D Program for January 2013. The notification did not have any information regarding fees, it only contained information on payment for services such as boarding, lodging, medical facilities etc. as per the Institute’s rules. 

The Court decided that the 2017 circular cannot have any baring on the scholars that entered the Institute before it was issued. Thus, the Petition was allowed and the UGC was asked to collect payment from the Petitioners as was mentioned in the 2013 notification and was asked to refund the excess amount paid.