Point of Law:
Payment of scholarship as per the Rules of 2012 is not a matter of right and ultimately remains to be considered in accordance with the scheme

JUDGMENT :

1. Petitioners, who are five in number, have approached this Court for a direction upon the State authorities to release scholarship to them for the academic sessions 2018-19 and 2019-20 in accordance with Uttar Pradesh Anusuchit Jati Aur Anusuchit Janjati Dashmottar Chatravritty Yojna Niyamawali, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as 'Rules of 2012') and to continue to release the same in subsequent academic sessions of B.Tech course.

2. A perusal of record would go to show that the petitioners have been denied scholarship under the Rules of 2012 as they have not qualified the joint entrance examination and are consequently treated in the exempted category of students like those belonging to the management quota or spot counseling etc. It is urged on behalf of the petitioners that the State Government has already framed the Rules of 2012 for payment of fee reimbursement/scholarship to the students which does not contain any clause exempting them from the grant of benefit of scholarship. The Rules of 2012 is contained in Annexure-1 to the writ petition. It is urged with reference to the provisions of Rules of 2012 that there is no stipulation for denying scholarship to students who have been admitted without qualifying the Joint Entrance Examination, and therefore, a condition not stipulated in the rules cannot be made the basis for denying consideration to petitioners' claim for payment of scholarship.

3. While taking note of such submissions this Court had passed following orders on 13.2.2020:-

“As per the instructions received by learned Standing Counsel, petitioners' claim for grant of scholarship under the scheme of the State is not liable to be entertained as the petitioners have been admitted under management quota.

Sri Anoop Trivedi, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners states that petitioners in fact have not been admitted in the management quota but have been admitted against left over counseling seats as per the instructions issued by the University contained in circular dated 6th July, 2018. It is stated that petitioners got themselves registered as per the procedure laid down in the notice dated 6th July, 2018 and their admission cannot be treated to be that of management quota. Learned Senior Counsel also places reliance upon a communication sent by the University to the Director, Samaj Kalyan dated 6.2.2019, according to which the petitioners, who have been admitted against left over counseling seats, are entitled to payment of scholarship under the scheme of the State.

Learned Standing Counsel as also Sri Rohit Pandey who appears for the University will obtain instructions and place before the Court relevant Government Orders, as per which petitioners' admission is being treated as one under the management quota. Post as fresh, once again, on 25.2.2020.”

4. Learned Standing Counsel has obtained instructions, according to which the scholarship scheme formulated in the year 2012 has been modified vide Government Orders dated 16.1.2018 and 26.6.2018, as also a clarificatory letter issued by the Director, Department of Social Welfare on 30.10.2019. It is stated that the scheme contemplates payment of fee reimbursement/scholarship to those students who have been admitted as per procedure laid down for admission i.e. passing of entrance examination etc. and the category of students like management quota and spot admissions have clearly been excluded from the benefit of scholarship under the scheme. It is also sought to be urged that petitioners have not participated in the counselling and having been directly admitted by the management they fall in the category of students who are excluded from the purview of scholarship scheme. It is also submitted that petitioners having been directly admitted by the college cannot assert any higher priority than the students admitted in management quota, particularly as those students (management quota and spot counselling) have atleast cleared the joint entrance test wherea