Colleges are obligated to pay stipend to Post-Graduate students as per Regulation 13.3, and the dispute over the payment of fees does not justify denying the stipend to the students.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the common order dated 05.05.2021 in W.P.No.14388 of 2020.

Prayer: Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the common order dated 05.05.2021 in W.P.No.7778 of 2020.

Prayer: Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the common order dated 05.05.2021 in W.P.No.7959 of 2020.)

Common Judgment:

Sanjay V. Gangapurwala, CJ.

All these writ appeals are based on similar set of facts, involving common question. To avoid rigmarole, they are disposed of by this common judgment.

2. For the sake of convenience, the parties would be originally referred to as in the writ petitions.

3. The petitioners had filed W.P.Nos.14388, 7959 & 7778 of 2020 for payment of stipend amounts. The petitioners are the Post-Graduate students of the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry and Aarupadai Veedu Medical College & Hospital, Puducherry. Their grievance is about non-payment of stipend for the academic years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

4. The learned Single Judge allowed the writ petitions, directing the Colleges to make payment towards the stipend in terms of Regulation 13.3 of the Medical Council of India (MCI), Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, expeditiously and in any event, not later than four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. The said order is challenged by the Colleges by filing the present appeals.

5. Mr.Vijay Narayanan, learned Senior Counsel and Mr.P.S.Raman, learned Senior Counsel, in their usual erudition, canvassed submissions on behalf of the appellants.

6. The contour of the submissions is that these students have not paid the fees, as was prescribed in the brochure at the time of taking admission. These students took admission after reading the brochure / prospectus. The yearly fees for the Post-Graduate Course was stipulated and prescribed in the said brochure / prospectus. After taking admission to the Post-Graduate Course, the students disputed payment of fees.

7. The matter was litigated in the Court. The dispute was taken up by the students by filing writ petitions in W.P.Nos.4582 & 11701 of 2018. In the said writ petitions, the High Court directed the students to tentatively pay the fees of Rs.20,34,000/- for the Academic Year 2018-19, pending outcome. For the Academic Year 2019-20, a Division Bench of this High Court passed a common order, directing the students to pay 13,00,000/-, pending outcome of the decision to be taken by the Fee Committee and the Supreme Court.

8. Another Division Bench of this Court in W.P.Nos.14232 of 2017 and 8331 of 2020 (PIL), directed the students to submit Affidavit of Undertaking in favour of the Medical Colleges to undertake and pay the balance tuition fee, as per the fee fixed by the Fee Committee. This Court passed a common order, directing that the fee payable for admission shall be fixed by the Puducherry Fee Committee and upon fixation of the fee, the adjustment i.e., making good the deficit or granting refund, shall be carried out as directed by this Court in order dated 16.06.2017. The Medical College preferred Special Leave Petition and stay was granted to the common order passed in W.P.Nos.14232 of 2017 and 8331 of 2020.

9. According to learned Senior Counsel, the issue with regard to the fees is pending consideration with the Apex Court. The payment of tuition fee, in full, for the entire duration of the Course becomes mandatory, as stipend is also a part of the tuition fee, since the Medical Colleges are providing opportunities for the Post-Graduate Medical students to learn the area of specialization from the Hospital attached to the Medical College. It is the further contention of learned Senior Counsel that once any Medical College has certain financial claims against a Post-Graduate student, the student cannot, ignoring such claims, set up a case of payment for due stipend. Such stipend is directly related to the fact that the s