The main legal point established in the judgment is the obligation of the college to pay stipend to postgraduate students as per regulations, and the requirement for the petitioner to comply with the undertaking to pay outstanding fees and refund the stipend if she received the scholarship.

ORDER :

1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Zubin F. Bharda for the petitioner, learned advocate Mr. Jay Upadhyay for respondent no.2, learned advocate Mr. Vikas V. Nair for respondent no.3 and learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Trupesh Kathiriya for the respondent-State.

2. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs :

“(A) This application may be admitted and allowed.

(B) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction and thereby direct the respondent No.1 to grant the scholarship to the petitioner in accordance with the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Post Matric Scholarships to the Students Belonging to the Schedule Castes for Studies in India, in the larger interest of justice.

(C) Pending hearing and till the final disposal of the present petition Your Lordship may be pleased to direct the respondent no.2 and 3 to allow her to fill up the examination form of her M.D. (Anesthesia) and may also allow her to attend the exam which is scheduled on 01.05.2021.

(D) Any other relief which Your Lordships may deem fit, just and proper in the interest of justice may kindly be granted.”

3. This Court (Coram : Hon’ble Mr. Justice Biren Vaishnav) passed the following order on 10th February, 2021 :

“1. In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has approached this Court with a prayer that the respondents be directed to grant scholarship to the petitioner in accordance with the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Post Matric Scholarship awarded to the students belonging to the schedule caste.

2. The case of the petitioner is that she is pursuing her studies in M.D. Anesthesiology in the college-respondent no.2 since 2018. The academic session of 3rd Master's Course would end in June, 2021. The annual fees for the course is of Rs.8 lakhs per annum. In all therefore the petitioner has to pay a total fees of Rs.24 lakhs. The petitioner has approached this Court by way of a petition stating that she has paid an amount of Rs.8 lakhs and the outstanding fees of Rs.16 lakhs may be waived / adjusted in lieu of her entitlement to the scholarship under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of post matric scholarship to the students belonging to Scheduled Caste. Averments in the petition were made that the college was forcing her to pay fees of the outstanding amount of Rs.16 lakhs when otherwise her applications for the scholarship were pending decision at the hands of the competent authorities. On 12.01.2021, the Court passed the following order :

"1. It is the case of the petitioner that she is a Scheduled Caste candidate pursing her M.D. (Anesthesiology). Her father is a labourer at Morbi. The income certificate indicates that the annual income of the father of the petitioner is Rs.48,000/-. She had applied for scholarship under the reserved category, the application for which is pending. Despite dire financial constrains, she paid Rs.8 lakhs as fees for May and December, 2018 semesters. Her eligibility for scholarship is not yet decided and now she has been asked to pay fees of Rs.16 lakhs for the remaining four semesters, failing which, she will not be entitled to appear in the ensuing examination in May, 2021.

2. Mr.Jinesh Kapadia learned advocate for the petitioner states that the last date for filling up the form is 15.01.2021. The respondent college no.2 shall permit the petitioner to fill in her form for the examination of M.D. (Anesthesiology) subject to further orders.

3. Issue NOTICE returnable on 27.01.2021. Registry to communicate the order through Email."

3. On the returnable date, Mr.Sudhir Nanavati learned Senior Advocate with Mr.Vandan Baxi learned advocate appeared for the respondent no.2- college and Mr.Vikas Nair appeared for the respondent no.3-Gujarat University.

4. Taking the Court through affidavit in reply filed by Dr.Yogendra Modi, DEAN of the GCS Medical College, Hospita