Point of law: Medical college - Question of payment of stipend - respondent Medical Colleges are bound to pay the stipend to the P.G. students as per the MCI Regulations

JUDGMENT :

(Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to pay the overdue monthly stipend amounts immediately to the Petitioners for the whole Academic years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 in accordance with Clause No.13.3 of the MCI Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000.

Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to pay the overdue monthly stipend amounts to the Petitioners for the part of Academic year 2017-18 and for the whole Academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20 in accordance with Clause No.13.3 of the MCI Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000.

Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to pay the overdue monthly stipend amounts immediately to the Petitioners for the whole Academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20 in accordance with Clause No.13.3 of the MCI Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000.)

1. These writ petitions have been filed to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent to pay the overdue monthly stipend amounts to the Petitioners in W.P.No.14388/2020 for the whole Academic years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20; to the Petitioners in W.P.No.7959/2020 for the part of Academic year 2017-18 and for the whole Academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20 and to the Petitioners in W.P.No.7778/2020 for the whole Academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20, in accordance with Clause No.13.3 of the MCI Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000.

2. The facts and the issues that are raised in these writ petitions are common to each other and therefore, all these writ petitions are heard and disposed of by a common order as under.

3. The case of the petitioners is that they are 3rd year Post-graduate Medical students and pursuing P.G.Medical Degree Course in the 1st respondent Medical College. The P.G. Medical students are required to work in the hospitals attached to the Medical Colleges and shall be available for 24 x 7 emergency medical duties in the College hospitals. Therefore, they are expected to stay within the College premises and it is a part of the PG Medical Course. Therefore, the PG medical students are provided with monthly stipend equal to the amount paid by State or Central Government Medical Colleges. The petitioners in W.P.No.7778/2020 have received the monthly stipend for the whole academic year 2017-18. Insofar as the petitioners in W.P.No.7959/2020 are concerned, they have received only part of the stipend amount for the academic year 2017-18. There is overdue monthly stipend amount to the Petitioners in all the three writ petitions for the whole Academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20. Therefore, the petitioners have filed these Writ Petitions seeking payment of arrears of stipend amounts due to them from the respondent Medical Colleges in accordance with Clause No.13.3 of the MCI Post-graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000.

4. In response to the writ petitions, the respondent Medical Colleges have filed the counter affidavits.

(a) In the counter affidavit filed by the respondent Medical College in W.P.No.14388 of 2020, it is averred as follows:

(i) The petitioners were admitted based on the interim order granted by the Division Bench of this Court dated 16.06.2017 on the vacant seats on deposit of Rs.10,00,000/- at the time of admission in 2017-2018 towards the annual fee for the first year subject to further condition that in the event the fees determined by the Fee Committee that may be constituted to study the fee structure of the deemed Universities is higher, they shall pay the differential amount. The said order does not stipulate that the students who got admitted in PG Medical Course need to pay only Rs.10,00,000/- for second and third year course.

(ii) The respondent Medical College had collected only Rs.10,0