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Synopsis

The Supreme Court recently came to the rescue of students who had completed their medical undergraduate degrees from a college in Uttarakhand but were unable to obtain their certificates due to a fee dispute. The court emphasized that the students could not be left stranded with an uncertain future.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed the petitioner students Sahil Bhargava and others, numbering ninety-one, to deposit Rs 7.5 lakh each over and above the amounts, already deposited, after which they would be entitled to a return of their original documents submitted at the time of obtaining admission.

"This is subject to the condition that the petitioners shall file an undertaking to pay the balance amount in the event that they are called upon to do so at the final disposal of the pending writ petitions," the bench ordered.

The court modified the interim order of the Uttarakhand High Court which on August 26, 2024, had admitted writ petitions by the students but had fixed it for hearing in March 2025.

"Absent such a direction, the students, despite having completed their undergraduate medical studies and internship, would not be able to either pursue medicine or secure admission for higher studies...No early resolution of the dispute seems likely. The students cannot be left in the lurch to an uncertain future," the bench said.

The high court had further directed that subject to the deposit of the fee, the original documents submitted by the petitioners to the university at the time of admission, would be returned.

The dispute in the present case concerns the fixation of the fee for the undergraduate medical degree course offered by a college in Uttarakhand. 

The petitioners were students who were granted admission in 2018 to the undergraduate medical degree course administered by the third respondent - Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences College. The students completed the course in 2023. The second respondent was the Shri Guru Ram Rai University, a university governed by an Act of the state legislature,1 of which the third respondent is a constituent college. 

In March 2019, the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee fixed the fees for the academic years 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 at Rs 13.22 lakhs per annum for the All India quota and Rs 9.78 lakhs per annum for the State quota. 

Letters were addressed by the college principal on March 1, 2023, asking all the petitioners to pay outstanding fees of Rs 36.99 lakhs for the All India quota students and Rs 26.01 lakhs for the State quota students, in accordance with the revised fees fixed by the committee and affirmed by the appellate authority.

The petitioners filed writ petitions before the high court, challenging the order of the appellate authority, the letter of March 1, 2023, and seeking a direction to the respondents to issue undergraduate degrees to the petitioners without insistence on any extra payment of tuition fee.

On March 22, 2023, the high court rejected the prayer to stay the order of the appellate authority and directed the petitioners to deposit the fees in three equal installments. 

By a subsequent interim order on April 3, 2023, the high court directed the petitioners to deposit the amount in nine equal installments instead of three installments. The order also recorded the statement of the counsel that on the payment of the first installment, the second and third respondents would issue a provisional certificate for completion of the undergraduate medical degree course to the petitioners, and they would be permitted to begin their internship.

On challenge, the apex court had on April 28, 2023 permitted the petitioners to continue the internship program subject to the deposit of two installments in terms of the interim order of the high court. 

The high court was, however, requested to dispose of the pending writ petition as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months from the date of the order. 

On 26 August 2024, the high court admitted the writ petitions and posted the matter to be listed in March 2025 and further directed that subject to the deposit of the fee, the original documents submitted by the petitioners to the university at the time of admission, would be returned.

After hearing the counsel for the parties, the bench said that the original fee when the students took admission was Rs five lakhs per annum for the All India quota seats and Rs four lakhs per annum, for the State quota seats. The fee structure as posted by the nodal agency on their website indicated that this fee was subject to the final decision in the writ petitions which were pending before the high court. 

The petitioners said that they had paid an amount of approximately Rs 34 lakhs per student for the All-India quota seats and approximately Rs 28 lakhs per student for the State quota seats.

They also said that the security deposit of Rs three lakhs had been adjusted; and two installments were paid in pursuance of the order of the top court of April 28, 2023.

The court said, "Bearing in mind the amounts which have been paid, we are of the view that an equitable interim order which will apply during the pendency of proceedings before the High Court should be passed so as to enable the students to obtain the return of their original documents to pursue their postgraduate studies and practice medicine. The order of this Court of April 28, 2023 sought to obviate such an imbroglio by issuing a direction for the deposit of two installments of fees and requested the High Court to dispose of the petition. Instead of doing so, the High Court simply admitted the petition and posted it to March 2025."

Court thus disposed of the special leave petition without expressing any opinion on the merits of the pending matter.

Petitioner students were represented through Mr. Gaurav Agarwal, Senior Advocate and Ms. Tanvi Dubey, Advocate and the Respondent college was represented through Mr. Gopal Shankarnarayan, Senior Advocate.

Case Title: Sahil Bhargava & Ors Vs State of Uttarakhand & Ors