New Delhi, June 24. The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a petition challenging the income limit of Rs 8 lakh for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates. The question raised in the petition was how this income limit can be linked with the annual fee of Rs 25 lakh of a private medical college.
In fact, in the petition of an EWS candidate, it was said that the tuition fees in private medical colleges of Rajasthan are between Rs 18.9 lakh to Rs 25 lakh every year. The petitioner argued that this actually makes the EWS quota ineffective as candidates in the Rs 8 lakh income group cannot afford such high education expenses.
The apex court upheld the order of Rajasthan High Court
Justice B.V. in Supreme Court Hearing the petition, a bench of Justice Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi decided to uphold the order of the Rajasthan High Court, which had found the fee structure determined by the State Fee Regulatory Committee to be legally correct.
Private colleges cannot be expected to have concessional fees like government colleges.
During the hearing, the bench said that private colleges cannot be expected to offer their courses at concessional fees like government colleges. The bench said, ‘You cannot say that private educational institutions will charge equal fees as government institutions. This cannot be.’
The Supreme Court clarified that no one can argue that the fees of private colleges are very high and hence they should be at par with the fees of government colleges. “These are self-financed institutions. A government institution gets a grant (subsidy) from the government. There is a big difference,” the bench said.
The bench also warned against underestimating the role of private institutions in medical education. Justice Nagarathna said, ‘If the state stops getting help in the field of medical education from private medical colleges, then… we need doctors.’ On the issue of affordability regarding the fee structure of private colleges, Justice Nagarathna said, ‘If you cannot pay… then take a scholarship…’
After hearing the arguments, the bench said it was not prepared to interfere with the High Court order. The bench said, ‘(the petition) is dismissed. If there is any legal question, it has been kept open.
The High Court had said that the fee structure was determined by the State Fee Regulatory Committee in accordance with the Supreme Court decision in the case of Islamic Academy of Education vs. State of Karnataka. The High Court had said that EWS reservation is applicable only at the stage of admission and it does not entitle anyone to get subsidized or different fees in private colleges.
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